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Antimeningococcal herd immunity in the Czech Republic – influence of an emerging clone, Neisseria meningitidis ET-15/37

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1999

P. KRIZ
Affiliation:
National Reference Laboratory for Meningococcal Infections, National Institute of Public Health, Srobarova 48, 100 42 Prague 10, Czech Republic
B. KRIZ
Affiliation:
Centre of Epidemiology and Microbiology, National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic Department of Epidemiology, 3rd Medical Faculty, Charles University, Czech Republic
E. SVANDOVA
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic
M. MUSILEK
Affiliation:
National Reference Laboratory for Meningococcal Infections, National Institute of Public Health, Srobarova 48, 100 42 Prague 10, Czech Republic
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Abstract

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For many years, invasive meningococcal disease in the Czech Republic occurred sporadically and was caused mainly by meningococci of serogroup B. In 1993, when a new clone (ET-15/37) emerged, the only phenotype found was C:2a:P1.2,5. In 1995, an antigenic variation of the ET-15/37 clone, B:2a:P1.2,5, occurred. The results of immunological surveys conducted in 1989 and 1996 were compared. A significantly higher proportion of 1996 sera than those collected in 1989 showed bactericidal antibodies against N. meningitidis B:2a:P1.2,5 (19·7 vs. 5·1%) and N. meningitidis C:2a:P1.2,5 (15·9 vs. 7·4%), consistent with increased herd immunity due to the spread of the new clone in the Czech Republic. There were differences in the age distribution of the positive sera.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press