Streptococcus pneumoniae typically express one of 92 serologically distinct capsule polysaccharide (cps) types (serotypes). Some of these serotypes are closely related to each other; using the commercially available typing antisera, these are assigned to common serogroups containing types that show cross-reactivity. In this serotyping scheme, factor antisera are used to allocate serotypes withi...

BackgroundStreptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) of serogroup 19 are mainly represented by serotypes 19A and 19F, which associated with antimicrobial resistance disease. The wzy gene, a component the pneumococcal capsular locus, is target to differentiate 19F PCR-based typing. In last decade, allelic variants wzy19F gene have been described, leading misinterpretation typing results.MethodsA c...

Serogroup B is the only major disease-associated capsular group of Neisseria meningitidis for which no protein-polysaccharide conjugate vaccine is available. This has led to the development of multi-component protein-based vaccines that target serogroup B invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), including Bexsero®, which was implemented for UK infants in 2015, and Trumenba®. Given the diversity of...

Bianca Törös (2014): Genome-based characterization of Neisseria meningitidis with focus on the emergent serogroup Y disease. Örebro Studies in Medicine 109. Neisseria meningitidis, also referred to as meningococcus, is one of the leading causes of epidemic meningitis and septicaemia worldwide. Despite modern treatment, meningococcal disease remains associated with a high mortality (about 10%). ...

Avian pasteurellosis caused by Pasteurella multocida was reported among 180 species of wild birds but not reported so far in emu birds. Several emu birds were reported to have died over a period of one week in an organized emu farm. Necropsy findings revealed typical haemorrhagic lesions and characteristic bipolar organism, suggestive of avian pasteurellousis. Two Pasteurella multocida isolates...

The sialylation of the lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of Neisseria meningitidis is mediated by the LOS sialyltransferase enzyme encoded by the lst gene. PCR using four sets of primers that targeted to different regions of the lst gene was used to survey the distribution of lst in different serogroups and LOS immunotypes of N. meningitidis as well as other Neisseria species. While the lst gene was fo...

The importance of O-acetyl groups to the immunogenicity of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A polysaccharide (PS) was examined in studies using human sera and mouse immunization. In 17 of 18 postimmunization human sera, inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicated that the majority of antibodies binding to serogroup A PS were specific for epitopes involving O-acetyl groups. Studies wi...