Disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI) is a rare complication caused by the systemic dissemination of to normally sterile anatomical sites. Little is known about the genetic diversity of DGI gonococcal strains and how they relate to other gonococcal strains causing uncomplicated mucosal infections. We used whole genome sequencing to characterize DGI isolates (n = 30) collected from a surveillance system in Georgia, United States, during 2017-2020 to understand phylogenetic clustering among DGI as well as uncomplicated uro- and extragenital gonococcal infection (UGI) isolates (n = 110) collected in Fulton County, Georgia, during 2017-2019.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeisseria gonorrhoeae multilocus sequence type (ST) 9363 core-genogroup isolates have been associated with reduced azithromycin susceptibility (AZMrs) and show evidence of clonal expansion in the United States. Here, we analyze a global collection of ST-9363 core-genogroup genomes to shed light on the emergence and dissemination of this strain. The global population structure of ST-9363 core-genogroup falls into three lineages: Basal, European, and North American; with 32 clades within all lineages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent emergence of strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae associated with treatment failures to ceftriaxone, the foundation of current treatment options, has raised concerns over a future of untreatable gonorrhea. Current global data on gonococcal strains suggest that several lineages, predominately characterized by mosaic penA alleles, are associated with elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to extended spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs). Here we report on whole genome sequences of 813 N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF, an obligately intracellular bacterium, is the most prevalent cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide. Numbers of U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContaminants such as heavy metals may contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by enriching resistance gene determinants via co-selection mechanisms. In the present study, a survey was performed on soils collected from four areas at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA, with varying contaminant profiles: relatively pristine (Upper Three Runs), heavy metals (Ash Basins), radionuclides (Pond B) and heavy metal and radionuclides (Tim's Branch). Using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we explored the structure and diversity of soil bacterial communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn 2016, the proportion of isolates with reduced susceptibility to azithromycin rose to 3.6%. A phylogenetic analysis of 334 isolates collected in 2016 revealed a single, geographically diverse lineage of isolates with MICs of 2 to 16 μg/ml that carried a mosaic-like locus, whereas the majority of isolates with MICs of ≥16 μg/ml appeared sporadically and carried 23S rRNA mutations.
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