Nationwide upsurge in invasive disease in the context of longitudinal surveillance of carriage and invasive 2009-2023, the Netherlands: a molecular epidemiological study.

Since 2022, many countries have reported an upsurge in invasive group A streptococcal (iGAS) infections. We explored whether changes in carriage rates or emergence of strains with potentially altered virulence, such as 1 variants M1 and M1, contributed to the 2022/2023 surge in the Netherlands. We determined (sub)type distribution for 2,698 invasive and 351 .

Recurrent bacterial meningitis in children in the Netherlands: a nationwide surveillance study.

Objectives: This study aimed to estimate the recurrence rate of culture-positive bacterial meningitis in children in the Netherlands.

Design: Nationwide surveillance study, using the database of the Netherlands Reference Laboratory for Bacterial Meningitis to identify patients with culture-positive bacterial meningitis during childhood.

Setting: The study was based in the Netherlands.

Neisseria meningitidis Sibling Small Regulatory RNAs Connect Metabolism with Colonization by Controlling Propionate Use.

Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) colonizes the human nasopharynx, primarily as a commensal, but sporadically causing septicemia and meningitis. During colonization and invasion, it encounters different niches with specific nutrient compositions. Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) are used to fine-tune expression of genes, allowing adaptation to their physiological differences.

Viral, Bacterial, Metabolic, and Autoimmune Causes of Severe Acute Encephalopathy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Objectives: To assess whether viral, bacterial, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases are missed by conventional diagnostics among children with severe acute encephalopathy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Study Design: One hundred thirty-four children (6 months to 18 years) presenting with nontraumatic coma or convulsive status epilepticus to 1 of 4 medical referral centers in Uganda, Malawi, and Rwanda were enrolled between 2015 and 2016. Locally available diagnostic tests could be supplemented in 117 patients by viral, bacterial, and 16s quantitative polymerase chain reaction testing, metagenomics, untargeted metabolomics, and autoimmune immunohistochemistry screening.

Meningococcal virulence in zebrafish embryos depends on capsule polysaccharide structure.

Unlabelled: or the meningococcus, can cause devasting diseases such as sepsis and meningitis. Its polysaccharide capsule, on which serogrouping is based, is the most important virulence factor. Non-encapsulated meningococci only rarely cause disease, due to their sensitivity to the host complement system.