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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 11, 2019 (HealthDay News) — A new strain of Streptococcus pyogenes<\/i> is causing scarlet fever, according to a study published online Sept. 10 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Nicola N. Lynskey, Ph.D., from the Medical Research Council Centre for Molecular Bacteriology & Infection in London, and colleagues used regional and national data to analyze changes in S. pyogenes emm<\/i> genotypes by analyzing genomes from 135 noninvasive and 552 invasive emm<\/i>1 isolates compared with 2,880 global emm<\/i>1 sequences.<\/p>\n
The researchers observed a significant increase in emm<\/i>1 S. pyogenes<\/i> upper respiratory tract isolates in northwest London in the March to May period, coinciding with national increases in scarlet fever and invasive disease notifications, from 5 percent in 2014 to 19 percent in 2015 and 33 percent in 2016. Increases were noted in invasive emm<\/i>1 isolates collected nationally, from 31 percent in 2015 to 42 percent in 2016. Emergence of a new emm<\/i>1 lineage (M1UK<\/sub>) was observed in sequences of emm<\/i>1 isolates from 2009 to 2016, which could be genotypically differentiated from pandemic emm<\/i>1 isolates (M1global<\/sub>) by 27 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Among M1UK<\/sub> versus M1global<\/sub> isolates, the median streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin A protein concentration in supernatant was nine times higher. In 2016, M1UK<\/sub> expanded nationally to represent 84 percent of all emm<\/i>1 genomes.<\/p>\n “Wider national and global surveillance will provide clearer understanding of the lineage’s geographical reach and longer-term fitness, and permit enhanced public health readiness where necessary,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed financial ties to the biotechnology industry.<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n