Genetic Diversity and Antimicrobial Drug Resistance of Serotype VI Group B Streptococcus, Canada.

Two genetically dissimilar sequence type 1 clades dominate the serotype VI group B Streptococcus population of strains causing invasive disease in Canada. Isolates of this rare serotype, recovered mainly from adult patients, were all susceptible to penicillin and vancomycin. However, we observed resistance to erythromycin and clindamycin.

In Vitro Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium Isolates in Ontario, Canada, from 2011 to 2016.

Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium-associated disease has been increasingly observed and often presents a conundrum to the treating physician. Analysis of antibiotic susceptibility testing data for 1,970 clinical Corynebacterium isolates received between 2011 and 2016 revealed that empirical drug treatment options are limited to vancomycin and linezolid. Corynebacterium striatum was the most frequently observed species during this study period, along with C. amycolatum and C. pseudodiphtheriticum/C. propinquum Low levels of susceptibility to penicillin (14.5%), erythromycin (15.1%), and clindamycin (8.7%) were observed for non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium species, while 3.0% of isolates were not susceptible to daptomycin. Similarly, 26.9% and 38.1% of Corynebacterium isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, respectively. Our data show much lower susceptibility to penicillin than previously reported in the literature and an increasing number of isolates resistant to daptomycin, highlighting the need for continued antibiotic surveillance studies for appropriate patient management and treatment success.

Capsular Switching and Other Large-Scale Recombination Events in Invasive Sequence Type 1 Group B Streptococcus.

We report several cases of recombination events leading to capsular switching among sequence type (ST) 1 group B Streptococcus strains. These strains otherwise shared a common genome backbone with serotype V ST1 strains. However, the genomes of ST1 serotype V strains and those of serotypes VI, VII, and VIII strains differed substantially.

Fluoroquinolone Resistance among Clonal Complex 1 Group B Streptococcus Strains.

Fluoroquinolone resistance in group B Streptococcus is increasingly being reported worldwide. Here, we correlated fluoroquinolone resistance with mutations in gyrA, gyrB, parC, and parE genes, identified by mining whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data of 190 clonal complex 1 group B Streptococcus strains recovered from patients with invasive diseases in North America. We report a high prevalence of fluoroquinolone resistance (12%) among GBS strains in our collection. Our approach is the first step towards accurate prediction of fluoroquinolone resistance from WGS data in this opportunistic pathogen.

Human metapneumovirus prevalence and molecular epidemiology in respiratory outbreaks in Ontario, Canada.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been identified previously as a cause of respiratory outbreaks in adults, including the elderly. The objective of this study was to document respiratory outbreaks that were caused by hMPV in Ontario, Canada and to identify the various circulating genotypes during April 2009-February 2012. The majority of the outbreaks that were part of this study were in adults (>65 years). Total nucleic acid extraction was done on 123 residual anonymized clinical specimens from 51 different respiratory outbreaks. Specimens were subjected to PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing targeting the F and G genes of hMPV. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to identify genotypes. HMPV accounted for 195 (8.5%) of 2,292 respiratory outbreaks. Genotype A2b was most prevalent, detected in 28 (54.9%) of 51 typed hMPV-positive outbreaks. The genotype A2b2 that was described recently was also identified. In earlier reports, subtype A1 was reported in Canada which was absent in the specimens typed in this study. This shift in genotype may be significant in terms of disease severity, and for any future vaccine considerations. Regular testing for hMPV should be done as part of outbreak investigation.

Whole genome sequencing of increased number of azithromycin-resistant Shigella flexneri 1b isolates in Ontario.

Azithromycin (AZM) resistance among Shigella is a major public health concern. Here, we investigated the epidemiology of Shigella flexneri serotype 1b recovered during 2016-2018 in Ontario, to describe the prevalence and spread of AZM resistance. We found that 72.3% (47/65) of cases were AZM-resistant (AZMR), of which 95.7% (45/47) were among males (P < 0.001). Whole-genome based phylogenetic analysis showed three major clusters, and 56.9% of isolates grouped within a single closely-related cluster (0-10 ∆SNP). A single AZMR clonal population was persistent over 3 years and involved 67.9% (36/53) of all male cases, and none reported international travel. In 2018, a different AZMR cluster appeared among adult males not reporting travel. A proportion of isolates (10.7%) with reduced susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (CIP) due to S83L mutation in gyrA were AZM susceptible, and 71.4% reported international travel. Resistance to AZM was due to the acquisition of mph gene-bearing incFII plasmids having > 95% nucleotide similarity to pKSR100. Plasmid-borne resistance limiting treatment options to AZM, ceftriaxone (CRO) and CIP was noted in a single isolate. We characterized AZMR isolates circulating locally among males and found that genomic analysis can support targeted prevention and mitigation strategies against antimicrobial-resistance.

Genetic evidence for a novel variant of the pilus island 1 backbone protein in group B Streptococcus.

PURPOSE: Pili contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of infection of group B Streptococcus (GBS) by facilitating adhesion and invasion of host cells. GBS pilin subunits (the backbone pilin protein, BP, and the ancillary pilin proteins, AP) as well as the specific enzymes required for pilus assembly are encoded by genes located in two separate genomic regions, known as pilus island 1 (PI-1) and PI-2. Our aim was to characterize the pilus profile of a collection of GBS isolates from metropolitan Toronto, Canada. METHODOLOGY: The pilus profile of 1332 invasive and colonizing GBS isolates was determined by PCR and, in selected cases, by whole genome sequencing. RESULTS: While investigating the pilus profile of a collection of GBS organisms, we discovered that 51 isolates possessed a novel variant of the PI-1 BP, which we named BP-1b. The predicted translated sequences of archetypical GBS BP-1 and novel BP-1b variants shared only 63 % amino acid sequence homology. The novel BP-1b variant was most common among strains of serotype Ib and VI, but was also found among strains of serotypes Ia, II, III and VIII. CONCLUSION: We describe a relatively frequent occurrence of a novel PI-1 BP that cannot be detected by a commonly used multiplex PCR scheme, which could lead to strains being mistyped as PI-1 negative. We present PCR primers that can easily be incorporated into the multiplex PCR assay to identify strains with novel BP-1b variant.