In South Africa, serogroup B meningococcal disease is sporadic. The aim of this study was to characterize serogroup B strains causing invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in South Africa from 2005 to 2008. Isolates, collected through a national, laboratory-based surveillance program for IMD, were characterized by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Two thousand two hundred thirty-four cases were...

An immunization campaign with meningococcal ACYW135 polysaccharide vaccine was conducted in 2003 by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health and included a study to evaluate the immune responses in children under 5 years of age in the Al Qassim region of Saudi Arabia. Children who were >/=24 months old were given one dose of tetravalent polysaccharide vaccine, while younger children were given two ...

BACKGROUND Factor H binding protein (fHbp) is an important antigen for vaccines against meningococcal serogroup B disease. The protein binds human factor H (fH), which enables the bacteria to resist serum bactericidal activity. Little is known about the vaccine-potential of fHbp for control of meningococcal epidemics in Africa, which typically are caused by non-group B strains. METHODOLOGY/PR...

Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of 133 isolates of Neisseria meningitidis obtained from meningococcal disease cases in Argentina during 2010 were performed by the National Reference Laboratory as part of a project coordinated by the PAHO within the SIREVA II network. Serogroup, serotype, serosubtype and MLST characterization were performed. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration to penicill...

Complementation experiments, Tn5 mutagenesis, and DNA sequencing were used to identify a locus (lag-1) that participates in acetylation of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 lipopolysaccharide. Nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of lipopolysaccharides from mutant and complemented strains suggest that lag-1 is responsible for O acetylation of serogroup 1 O polysaccharide.

A Legionella-like organism (strain 82A3105; ATCC 43736) was isolated from a lung aspirate taken from a patient with pneumonia. Results of physiologic, gas-liquid chromatographic, genetic, and serologic tests showed that strain 82A3105 and four additional clinical isolates belong to a new Legionella pneumophila serogroup, serogroup 13.

BACKGROUND Leptospirosis is caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira spp. This zoonotic disease is distributed globally and affects domestic animals, including cattle. Leptospira interrogans serogroup Sejroe serovar Hardjo and Leptospira borgpetersenii serogroup Sejroe serovar Hardjo remain important species associated with this reproductive disease in livestock production. Prev...

Previous research had identified four serogroups of Rhizobium trifolii indigenous to the acidic Abiqua soil (fine, mixed, mesic Cumulic Ultic Haploxeroll). Nodulation of subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) by two of the serogroups, 6 and 36, was differentially influenced by an application of CaCO(3) which raised the pH of the soil from 5.0 to 6.5. These studies were designed to char...

BACKGROUND To facilitate the interpretation of meningococcal meningitis epidemiology in the "African meningitis belt", we aimed at obtaining serogroup-specific pooled estimates of incidence, carriage and case-carrier ratios for meningococcal meningitis in the African meningitis belt and describe their variations across the endemic, hyperendemic and epidemic context. METHODS We conducted a sys...