Severe meningitis outbreak caused by bacteria that took genes from microbiome
An unprecedented meningitis outbreak occurred in Kent, UK, in March this year, which seems to have been driven by a strain of bacteria taking genes from harmless microbes
A severe outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease in Kent earlier this year was caused by a strain of bacteria that acquired genetic material from harmless microbes in their environment. This allowed the bacteria to evade the immune system and obtain essential nutrients, leading to an explosive and rapidly spreading outbreak. Twenty-one people, mostly university or high school students, became infected with the N. meningitidis group B strain after a nightclub in Canterbury, Kent.
The bacteria usually live harmlessly in the nose and throat of 5 to 10 percent of people, but genetic changes allowed it to become invasive and cause meningitis or sepsis, potentially life-threatening conditions. All the invasive meningococcal disease cases in Kent occurred within a week and were treated in hospital, with nine requiring intensive care.
The incredibly rapid nature of the outbreak was unprecedented in the UK, with cases usually taking two to three weeks to appear. Genetic sequencing of live N. meningitidis bacteria from six cases revealed that the outbreak started from a single person, and the strain had acquired several genes from other harmless Neisseria strains and another harmless bacterium called Neisseria cinerea.
These acquired genes enabled the bacteria to better survive and replicate in the bloodstream and evade destruction by immune cells. The changes made the bacteria more transmissible but also more invasive, causing the outbreak to end quickly as those who became ill were less able to transmit the infection to others.
Written by urgent.news from New Scientist's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
