Detailed analysis of potential household transmission events of tuberculosis in the city of Belem, Brazil

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease with a higher risk for infection and disease among household contacts (HHC). Here, we report a molecular epidemiology-based approach to study disease transmission and the genetic characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) strains among HHC in the city of Belem, the capital of the state of Para in north Brazil. The study included 63  TB patients belonging to 26 HHC groups (HHC1 to HHC26). Spoligotyping and 24-loci Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit - Variable Number of Tandem Repeat (MIRU-VNTR) revealed indistinguishable bacterial genotypes among 26 patients in 14 (53.8%) HHC groups.

Source: Tuberculosis - October 3, 2018 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Emilyn Costa Concei ção, Arthur Emil dos Santos Guimarães, Maria Luíza Lopes, Ismari Perini Furlaneto, Yan Corrêa Rodrigues, Marília Lima da Conceição, Wandyra Araújo Barros, Ninarosa Calzavara Cardoso, Abhinav Sharma, Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Cos Tags: Opinion Source Type: research