Assessment of the pathogen genomics landscape highlights disparities and challenges for effective AMR Surveillance and outbreak response in the East African community.

The East African Community (EAC) grapples with many challenges in tackling infectious disease threats and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), underscoring the importance of regional and robust pathogen genomics capacities. However, a significant disparity exists among EAC Partner States in harnessing bacterial pathogen sequencing and data analysis capabilities for effective AMR surveillance and outbreak response. This study assesses the current landscape and challenges associated with pathogen next-generation sequencing (NGS) within EAC, explicitly focusing on World Health Organization (WHO) AMR-priority pathogens. The assessment adopts a comprehensive approach, integrating a questionnaire-based survey amongst National Public Health Laboratories (NPHLs) with an analysis of publicly available metadata on bacterial pathogens isolated in the EAC countries. In addition to the heavy reliance on third-party organizations for bacterial NGS, the findings reveal a significant disparity among EAC member States in leveraging bacterial pathogen sequencing and data analysis. Approximately 97% (n = 4,462) of publicly available high-quality bacterial genome assemblies of samples collected in the EAC were processed and analyzed by external organizations, mainly in Europe and North America. Tanzania led in-country sequencing efforts, followed by Kenya and Uganda. The other EAC countries had no publicly available samples or had all their samples sequenced and analyzed outside the region. Insufficient local NGS sequencing facilities, limited bioinformatics expertise, lack of adequate computing resources, and inadequate data-sharing mechanisms are among the most pressing challenges that hinder the EAC's NPHLs from effectively leveraging pathogen genomics data. These insights emphasized the need to strengthen microbial pathogen sequencing and data analysis capabilities within the EAC to empower these laboratories to conduct pathogen sequencing and data analysis independently. Substantial investments in equipment, technology, and capacity-building initiatives are crucial for supporting regional preparedness against infectious disease outbreaks and mitigating the impact of AMR burden. In addition, collaborative efforts should be developed to narrow the gap, remedy regional imbalances, and harmonize NGS data standards. Supporting regional collaboration, strengthening in-country genomics capabilities, and investing in long-term training programs will ultimately improve pathogen data generation and foster a robust NGS-driven AMR surveillance and outbreak response in the EAC, thereby supporting global health initiatives.

Rapid regional mobile laboratory response and genomic monkeypox virus (MPXV) surveillance in seven East African Community partner states, August 2024: preparedness activities for the ongoing outbreak.

The East African Community (EAC) is experiencing an unprecedented, emerging mpox outbreak since July 2024 in five of eight partner states. We highlight rapid regional response measures, initiated August 2024 coordinated by EAC: field deployment of six mobile laboratories in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan to high-risk areas, donation of one mobile laboratory to Democratic Republic of the Congo and genomic monkeypox virus (MPXV) surveillance support. These interventions aim to limit local mpox spread and support international containment.

The East African Community (EAC) mobile laboratory networks in Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and South Sudan-from project implementation to outbreak response against Dengue, Ebola, COVID-19, and epidemic-prone diseases.

BACKGROUND: East Africa is home to 170 million people and prone to frequent outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fevers and various bacterial diseases. A major challenge is that epidemics mostly happen in remote areas, where infrastructure for Biosecurity Level (BSL) 3/4 laboratory capacity is not available. As samples have to be transported from the outbreak area to the National Public Health Laboratories (NPHL) in the capitals or even flown to international reference centres, diagnosis is significantly delayed and epidemics emerge. MAIN TEXT: The East African Community (EAC), an intergovernmental body of Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan, received 10 million € funding from the German Development Bank (KfW) to establish BSL3/4 capacity in the region. Between 2017 and 2020, the EAC in collaboration with the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine (Germany) and the Partner Countries' Ministries of Health and their respective NPHLs, established a regional network of nine mobile BSL3/4 laboratories. These rapidly deployable laboratories allowed the region to reduce sample turn-around-time (from days to an average of 8h) at the centre of the outbreak and rapidly respond to epidemics. In the present article, the approach for implementing such a regional project is outlined and five major aspects (including recommendations) are described: (i) the overall project coordination activities through the EAC Secretariat and the Partner States, (ii) procurement of equipment, (iii) the established laboratory setup and diagnostic panels, (iv) regional training activities and capacity building of various stakeholders and (v) completed and ongoing field missions. The latter includes an EAC/WHO field simulation exercise that was conducted on the border between Tanzania and Kenya in June 2019, the support in molecular diagnosis during the Tanzanian Dengue outbreak in 2019, the participation in the Ugandan National Ebola response activities in Kisoro district along the Uganda/DRC border in Oct/Nov 2019 and the deployments of the laboratories to assist in SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics throughout the region since early 2020. CONCLUSIONS: The established EAC mobile laboratory network allows accurate and timely diagnosis of BSL3/4 pathogens in all East African countries, important for individual patient management and to effectively contain the spread of epidemic-prone diseases.

Commentary: mobile laboratories for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics: what Europe could learn from the East African Community to assure trade in times of border closures.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutants might lead to European border closures, which impact on trade and result in serious economic losses. In April 2020, similar border closures were observed during the first SARS-CoV-2 wave in East Africa. MAIN BODY: Since 2017 the East African Community EAC together with the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine BNITM established a mobile laboratory network integrated into the National Public Health Laboratories of the six Partner States for molecular diagnosis of viral haemorrhagic fevers and SARS-CoV-2. Since May 2020, the National Public Health Laboratories of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan deployed these mobile laboratories to their respective borders, issuing a newly developed "Electronic EAC COVID-19 Digital Certificate" to SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative truck drivers, thus assuring regional trade. CONCLUSION: Considering the large financial damages of border closures, such a mobile laboratory network as demonstrated in East Africa is cost-effective, easy to implement and feasible. The East African Community mobile laboratory network could serve as a blueprint for Europe and other countries around the globe.

Pediatric Bacterial Meningitis Surveillance in Nigeria From 2010 to 2016, Prior to and During the Phased Introduction of the 10-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Historically, Nigeria has experienced large bacterial meningitis outbreaks with high mortality in children. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus), Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus), and Haemophilus influenzae are major causes of this invasive disease. In collaboration with the World Health Organization, we conducted longitudinal surveillance in sentinel hospitals within Nigeria to establish the burden of pediatric bacterial meningitis (PBM). METHODS: From 2010 to 2016, cerebrospinal fluid was collected from children <5 years of age, admitted to 5 sentinel hospitals in 5 Nigerian states. Microbiological and latex agglutination techniques were performed to detect the presence of pneumococcus, meningococcus, and H. influenzae. Species-specific polymerase chain reaction and serotyping/grouping were conducted to determine specific causative agents of PBM. RESULTS: A total of 5134 children with suspected meningitis were enrolled at the participating hospitals; of these 153 (2.9%) were confirmed PBM cases. The mortality rate for those infected was 15.0% (23/153). The dominant pathogen was pneumococcus (46.4%: 71/153) followed by meningococcus (34.6%: 53/153) and H. influenzae (19.0%: 29/153). Nearly half the pneumococcal meningitis cases successfully serotyped (46.4%: 13/28) were caused by serotypes that are included in the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. The most prevalent meningococcal and H. influenzae strains were serogroup W and serotype b, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccine-type bacterial meningitis continues to be common among children <5 years in Nigeria. Challenges with vaccine introduction and coverage may explain some of these finding. Continued surveillance is needed to determine the distribution of serotypes/groups of meningeal pathogens across Nigeria and help inform and sustain vaccination policies in the country.

Ethical Considerations for Movement Mapping to Identify Disease Transmission Hotspots.

Traditional public health methods for detecting infectious disease transmission, such as contact tracing and molecular epidemiology, are time-consuming and costly. Information and communication technologies, such as global positioning systems, smartphones, and mobile phones, offer opportunities for novel approaches to identifying transmission hotspots. However, mapping the movements of potentially infected persons comes with ethical challenges. During an interdisciplinary meeting of researchers, ethicists, data security specialists, information and communication technology experts, epidemiologists, microbiologists, and others, we arrived at suggestions to mitigate the ethical concerns of movement mapping. These suggestions include a template Data Protection Impact Assessment that follows European Union General Data Protection Regulations.

A cross-sectional study of tuberculosis drug resistance among previously treated patients in a tertiary hospital in Accra, Ghana: public health implications of standardized regimens.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug resistance is a major challenge to the use of standardized regimens for tuberculosis (TB) therapy, especially among previously treated patients. We aimed to investigate the frequency and pattern of drug resistance among previously treated patients with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Chest Clinic, Accra. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of mycobacterial isolates from previously treated patients referred to the Chest Clinic Laboratory between October 2010 and October 2013. The Bactec MGIT 960 system for mycobactrerial culture and drug sensitivity testing (DST) was used for sputum culture of AFB smear-positive patients with relapse, treatment failure, failure of smear conversion, or default. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patient characteristics, and frequency and patterns of drug resistance. RESULTS: A total of 112 isolates were studied out of 155 from previously treated patients. Twenty contaminated (12.9%) and 23 non-viable isolates (14.8%) were excluded. Of the 112 studied isolates, 53 (47.3%) were pan-sensitive to all first-line drugs tested Any resistance (mono and poly resistance) to isoniazid was found in 44 isolates (39.3%) and any resistance to streptomycin in 43 (38.4%). Thirty-one (27.7%) were MDR-TB. Eleven (35.5%) out of 31 MDR-TB isolates were pre-XDR. MDR-TB isolates were more likely than non-MDR isolates to have streptomycin and ethambutol resistance. CONCLUSIONS: The main findings of this study were the high prevalence of MDR-TB and streptomycin resistance among previously treated TB patients, as well as a high prevalence of pre-XDR-TB among the MDR-TB patients, which suggest that first-line and second-line DST is essential to aid the design of effective regimens for these groups of patients in Ghana.

Emergence and clonal transmission of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis among patients in Chad.

BACKGROUND: Emergence of Multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains constitutes a significant public health problem worldwide. Prevalence of MDR tuberculosis from Chad is unavailable to date. METHODS: We collected samples from consecutive TB patients nationwide in the seven major cities of Chad between 2007 and 2012 to characterize drug resistance and the population structure of circulating Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) strains. We tested drug sensitivity using Line Probe Assays and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST) were used for second line drugs. We genotyped the isolates using spoligotype analysis and MIRU-VNTR. RESULTS: A total of 311 cultures were isolated from 593 patients. The MDR prevalence was 0.9% among new patients and 3.5% among retreatment patients, and no second line drug resistance was identified. The distribution of genotypes suggests a dissemination of MDR strains in the Southern city of Moundou, bordering Cameroon and Central African Republic. CONCLUSION: Emerging MDR isolates pose a public health threat to Southern Chad, with risk to neighboring countries. This study informs public health practitioners, justifying the implementation of continuous surveillance with DST for all retreatment cases as well as contacts of MDR patients, in parallel with provision of adequate 2nd line regimens in the region.

The Biology and Epidemiology of Mycobacterium africanum.

West Africa is the only region in the world where six out of seven mycobacterial lineages of human importance are endemic. In particular, two evolutionary ancient lineages, Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 1 (MTBC Lineage 5) and M. africanum West Africa 2 (MTBC Lineage 6) are of interest as they cause up to 40% of all pulmonary TB cases in some West African countries. Although these M. africanum lineages are closely related to M. tuberculosis sensu stricto lineages, they differ significantly in respect to biology, epidemiology and in their potential to cause disease in humans. Most importantly the M. africanum lineages are exclusive to West Africa. Although the exact mechanisms underlying this geographical restriction are still not understood, it is increasingly suspected that this is due to an adaptation of the bacteria to West African host populations. In this chapter, we summarize the geographical distribution of the M. africanum lineages within the region, describe biological and clinical differences and the consequent implications for TB control in West Africa. We also try to shed light on the geographical restriction, based on recently published analyses on whole genomes of M. africanum isolates.

The emerging threat of pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in West Africa: preparing for large-scale tuberculosis research and drug resistance surveillance.

BACKGROUND: Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is a global public health problem. Adequate management requires baseline drug-resistance prevalence data. In West Africa, due to a poor laboratory infrastructure and inadequate capacity, such data are scarce. Therefore, the true extent of drug-resistant TB was hitherto undetermined. In 2008, a new research network, the West African Network of Excellence for Tuberculosis, AIDS and Malaria (WANETAM), was founded, comprising nine study sites from eight West African countries (Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo). The goal was to establish Good Clinical Laboratory Practice (GCLP) principles and build capacity in standardised smear microscopy and mycobacterial culture across partnering laboratories to generate the first comprehensive West African drug-resistance data. METHODS: Following GCLP and laboratory training sessions, TB isolates were collected at sentinel referral sites between 2009-2013 and tested for first- and second-line drug resistance. RESULTS: From the analysis of 974 isolates, an unexpectedly high prevalence of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) strains was found in new (6 %) and retreatment patients (35 %) across all sentinel sites, with the highest prevalence amongst retreatment patients in Bamako, Mali (59 %) and the two Nigerian sites in Ibadan and Lagos (39 % and 66 %). In Lagos, MDR is already spreading actively amongst 32 % of new patients. Pre-extensively drug-resistant (pre-XDR) isolates are present in all sites, with Ghana showing the highest proportion (35 % of MDR). In Ghana and Togo, pre-XDR isolates are circulating amongst new patients. CONCLUSIONS: West African drug-resistance prevalence poses a previously underestimated, yet serious public health threat, and our estimates obtained differ significantly from previous World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates. Therefore, our data are reshaping current concepts and are essential in informing WHO and public health strategists to implement urgently needed surveillance and control interventions in West Africa.

The use of Kudoh method for culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium africanum in The Gambia.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis culturing remains the gold standard for laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains a great public health problem in developing countries like The Gambia, as most of the methods currently used for bacterial isolation are either time-consuming or costly. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the Kudoh swab method in a West African setting in Gambia, with a particular focus on the method's performance when culturing Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 2 (MAF2) isolates. METHOD: 75 sputum samples were collected in the Greater Banjul Area and decontaminated in parallel with both the standard N-acetyl-L-Cysteine-NaOH (NALC-NaOH) and the Kudoh swab method in the TB diagnostics laboratory in the Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia between 30th December 2017 and 25th February 2018. These samples were subsequently cultured on standard Löwenstein-Jensen and Modified Ogawa media respectively and incubated at 37°C for mycobacterial growth. Spoligotyping was done to determine if the decontamination and culture methods compared could equally detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 1 and Mycobacterium africanum West Africa 2. RESULT: Among the 50 smear positives, 35 (70%) were culture-positive with Kudoh and 32 (64%) were culture positive with NALC-NaOH, whilst 7(28%) of the 25 smear negative samples were culture positive with both methods (Table 2). There was no significant difference in recovery between both methods (McNemar's test, p-value = 0.7003), suggesting that the overall positivity rate between the two methods is comparable. There were no differences in time-to-positivity or contamination rate between the methods. However, Kudoh yielded positive cultures that were negative on LJ and vice versa. All findings were irrespective of mycobacterial lineages. CONCLUSION: The Kudoh method has comparable sensitivity to the NALC-NaOH method for detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates. It is easy to perform and could be an add on option for mycobacterial culture in the field in The Gambia, since it requires less biosafety equipment.

Immunogenic Mycobacterium africanum strains associated with ongoing transmission in The Gambia.

In West Africa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains co-circulate with M. africanum, and both pathogens cause pulmonary tuberculosis in humans. Given recent findings that M. tuberculosis T-cell epitopes are hyperconserved, we hypothesized that more immunogenic strains have increased capacity to spread within the human host population. We investigated the relationship between the composition of the mycobacterial population in The Gambia, as measured by spoligotype analysis, and the immunogenicity of these strains as measured by purified protein derivative-induced interferon-γ release in ELISPOT assays of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We found a positive correlation between strains with superior spreading capacity and their relative immunogenicity. Although our observation is true for M. tuberculosis and M. africanum strains, the association was especially pronounced in 1 M. africanum sublineage, characterized by spoligotype shared international type 181, which is responsible for 20% of all tuberculosis cases in the region and therefore poses a major public health threat in The Gambia.

Strain diversity and gene mutations associated with presumptive multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates in Northwest Ethiopia.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we assessed the genetic diversity and gene mutations that confer resistance to rifampicin (RIF), isoniazid (INH), fluoroquinolone (FQ), and second-line injectable (SLI) drugs in RIF-resistant (RR)/multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) isolates in Northwest Ethiopia. METHODS: Spoligotyping was used to assign isolates to TB lineages (Ls), and Hain line probe assays were used to detect resistance to RIF, INH, and FQs, and SLIs. RESULTS: Among 130 analyzed strains, 68.5% were RR, and four major Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex lineages (L1, L3, L4, and L7) were identified with a predominance of the Euro-American L4 (72, 54.7%), while L7 genotypes were less common (3, 2.3%). Overall, the L4-T3-ETH (41, 32.0%), L3-CAS1-Delhi (29, 22.7%), and L3-CAS1-Killi (19, 14.8%) families were most common. Line probe analysis showed that among rpoB mutants, 65.2% were S450L, while 87.8% of katG mutants were S315T. Only three isolates showed mutation (c-15t) at the inhA gene, and no double mutation with katG and inhA genes was found. Six strains, two each of L1, L3, and L4, were resistant to FQs, having gyrA mutations (D94G, S91P), of which three isolates had additional resistance to SLI (rrs A1401G or C1402T mutations) including one isolate with low-level kanamycin (KAN) resistance. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a predominance of L4-T3-ETH, L3-CAS1-Delhi, and L3-CAS1-Killi families, with a high rate of rpoB_S450L and katG_S315T mutations and a low proportion of gyrA and rrs mutations. L7 was less frequently observed in this study. Further investigations are, therefore, needed to understand L7 and other lineages with undefined mutations.

Molecular Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Dengue Fever Viruses in Three Outbreaks in Tanzania Between 2017 and 2019.

BACKGROUND: Dengue is a disease of public health interest, and Tanzania experienced major outbreaks in 2014 and 2019. Here, we report our findings on the molecular characterization of dengue viruses (DENV) that circulated during two smaller outbreaks (2017 and 2018) and one major epidemic (2019) in Tanzania. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We tested archived serum samples from 1,381 suspected dengue fever patients, with a median age of 29 (IQR:22-40) years, referred to the National Public Health Laboratory for confirmation of DENV infection. DENV serotypes were identified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and specific genotypes were identified by sequencing the envelope glycoprotein gene and phylogenetic inference methods. DENV was confirmed in 823 (59.6%) cases. More than half (54.7%) of patients with dengue fever infection were males, and nearly three-quarters (73%) of the infected individuals were living in Kinondoni district, Dar es Salaam. DENV-3 Genotype III caused the two smaller outbreaks in 2017 and 2018, while DENV-1 Genotype V caused the 2019 epidemic. DENV-1 Genotype I was also detected in one patient in 2019. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This study has demonstrated the molecular diversity of dengue viruses circulating in Tanzania. We found that contemporary circulating serotypes did not cause the major epidemic of 2019 but rather due to a serotype shift from DENV-3 (2017/2018) to DENV-1 in 2019. Such a change increases the risk for patients previously infected with a particular serotype to develop severe symptoms upon potential re-infection with a heterologous serotype due to antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. Therefore, the circulation of serotypes emphasizes the need to strengthen the country's dengue surveillance system for better management of patients, early detection of outbreaks, and vaccine development.

Regional Evaluation of Two SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests in East Africa.

The clinical performance of two rapid antigen tests for the diagnosis of Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were regionally evaluated in East African populations. Swabs were collected from 1,432 individuals from five Partner States of the East African Community (Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan). The two rapid antigen tests (Bionote NowCheck COVID-19 Ag and SD Biosensor STANDARD Q COVID-19 Ag) were evaluated against the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA by the Reverse Transcription PCR (RT-PCR) gold standard. Of the concordant results with both RT-PCR and rapid antigen test data (862 for Bionote and 852 for SD Biosensor), overall clinical sensitivity was 60% and 50% for the Bionote NowCheck and the SD Biosensor STANDARD Q, respectively. Stratification by viral load, including samples with RT-PCR cycle thresholds (Ct) of <25, improved sensitivity to 90% for both rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). Overall specificity was good at 99% for both antigen tests. Taken together, the clinical performance of both Ag-RDTs in real world settings within the East African target population was lower than has been reported elsewhere and below the acceptable levels for sensitivity of >80%, as defined by the WHO. Therefore, the rapid antigen test alone should not be used for diagnosis but could be used as part of an algorithm to identify potentially infectious individuals with high viral load. IMPORTANCE Accurate diagnostic tests are essential to both support the management and containment of outbreaks, as well as inform appropriate patient care. In the case of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, antigen Rapid Diagnostic Tests (Ag-RDTs) played a major role in this function, enabling widespread testing by untrained individuals, both at home and within health facilities. In East Africa, a number of SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDTs are available; however, there remains little information on their true test performance within the region, in the hands of the health workers routinely carrying out SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. This study contributes test performance data for two commonly used SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDTs in East Africa, which will help inform the use of these RDTs within the region.

Pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria in colonisation and disease in The Gambia.

The clinical relevance of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria (PNTM) in The Gambia is unknown. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in colonisation, and the burden of clinically relevant pulmonary NTM (PNTM) disease in The Gambia. This was a cross-sectional study of the prevalence of NTM in participants aged ≥ 15 years, in a nationwide tuberculosis (TB) prevalence survey between December 2011 and January 2013. We enrolled 903 participants with suspected NTM and NTM cultures were confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analyses. We applied the American Thoracic Society/Infectious Disease Society of America (ATS/IDSA) diagnostic criteria to determine clinical relevance of NTM. A total of 575 participants had acid-fast bacilli (AFB) positive Mycobacterial Growth Indicator Tube (MGIT) cultures and 229 (39.8%) were NTM. M. avium complex was by far the most isolated NTM (71.0%), followed by M. fortuitum (9.5%) and M. nonchromogenicum (2.9%). Older participants (> 24 years old) were four times more likely to have NTM in their sputa. Only 20.5% (9/44) NTM cases met the ATS/IDSA criteria for NTM disease. This study provides important data on the prevalence of NTM in pulmonary samples of suspected TB cases with AFB positive cultures from a nationally representative population in The Gambia. Enhanced PNTM surveillance is recommended to better understand the contribution of NTM to pulmonary disease.

Genetic diversity of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains from newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients in Northwest Ethiopia reveals a predominance of East-African-Indian and Euro-American lineages.

OBJECTIVES: This study described the population structure of M. tuberculosis complex (MTBc) strains among patients with pulmonary or lymph node tuberculosis (TB) in Northwest Ethiopia and tested the performance of culture isolation and MPT64-based speciation for Lineage 7 (L7). METHODS: Patients were recruited between April 2017 and June 2019 in North Gondar, Ethiopia. The MPT64 assay was used to confirm MTBc, and spoligotyping was used to characterize mycobacterial lineages. Line probe assay (LPA) was used to detect resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid. RESULTS: Among 274 MTBc genotyped isolates, there were five MTBc lineages: L1-L4 and L7 were identified, with predominant East-African-Indian (L3) (53.6%) and Euro-American (L4) (40.1%) strains, and low prevalence (2.6%) of Ethiopia L7. The genotypes were similarly distributed between pulmonary and lymph node TB, and all lineages were equally isolated by culture and recognized as MTBc by the MPT64 assay. Additionally, LPA showed that 259 (94.5%) MTBc were susceptible to both rifampicin and isoniazid, and one (0.4%) was multi-drug resistant (resistant to both rifampicin and isoniazid). CONCLUSION: These findings show that TB in North Gondar, Ethiopia, is mainly caused by L3 and L4 strains, with low rates of L7, confirmed as MTBc by MPT64 assay and with limited resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid.

Phylogenomics of Mycobacterium africanum reveals a new lineage and a complex evolutionary history.

Human tuberculosis (TB) is caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). The MTBC comprises several human-adapted lineages known as M. tuberculosis sensu stricto, as well as two lineages (L5 and L6) traditionally referred to as Mycobacterium africanum. Strains of L5 and L6 are largely limited to West Africa for reasons unknown, and little is known of their genomic diversity, phylogeography and evolution. Here, we analysed the genomes of 350 L5 and 320 L6 strains, isolated from patients from 21 African countries, plus 5 related genomes that had not been classified into any of the known MTBC lineages. Our population genomic and phylogeographical analyses showed that the unclassified genomes belonged to a new group that we propose to name MTBC lineage 9 (L9). While the most likely ancestral distribution of L9 was predicted to be East Africa, the most likely ancestral distribution for both L5 and L6 was the Eastern part of West Africa. Moreover, we found important differences between L5 and L6 strains with respect to their phylogeographical substructure and genetic diversity. Finally, we could not confirm the previous association of drug-resistance markers with lineage and sublineages. Instead, our results indicate that the association of drug resistance with lineage is most likely driven by sample bias or geography. In conclusion, our study sheds new light onto the genomic diversity and evolutionary history of M. africanum, and highlights the need to consider the particularities of each MTBC lineage for understanding the ecology and epidemiology of TB in Africa and globally.

Lessons Learned From a Large Cross-Border Field Simulation Exercise to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness in East Africa, 2019.

Field simulation exercises (FSXs) require substantial time, resources, and organizational experience to plan and implement and are less commonly undertaken than drills or tabletop exercises. Despite this, FSXs provide an opportunity to test the full scope of operational capacities, including coordination across sectors. From June 11 to 14, 2019, the East African Community Secretariat conducted a cross-border FSX at the Namanga One Stop Border Post between the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania. The World Health Organization Department of Health Security Preparedness was the technical lead responsible for developing and coordinating the exercise. The purpose of the FSX was to assess and further enhance multisectoral outbreak preparedness and response in the East Africa Region, using a One Health approach. Participants included staff from the transport, police and customs, public health, animal health, and food inspection sectors. This was the first FSX of this scale, magnitude, and complexity to be conducted in East Africa for the purpose of strengthening emergency preparedness capacities. The FSX provided an opportunity for individual learning and national capacity strengthening in emergency management and response coordination. In this article, we describe lessons learned and propose recommendations relevant to FSX design, management, and organization to inform future field exercises.

Comparative genomics shows differences in the electron transport and carbon metabolic pathways of Mycobacterium africanum relative to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and suggests an adaptation to low oxygen tension.

The geographically restricted Mycobacterium africanum lineages (MAF) are primarily found in West Africa, where they account for a significant proportion of tuberculosis. Despite this phenomenon, little is known about the co-evolution of these ancient lineages with West Africans. MAF and M. tuberculosis sensu stricto lineages (MTB) differ in their clinical, in vitro and in vivo characteristics for reasons not fully understood. Therefore, we compared genomes of 289 MAF and 205 MTB clinical isolates from the 6 main human-adapted M. tuberculosis complex lineages, for mutations in their Electron Transport Chain and Central Carbon Metabolic pathway in order to explain these metabolic differences. Furthermore, we determined, in silico, whether each mutation could affect the function of genes encoding enzymes in these pathways. We found more mutations with the potential to affect enzymes in these pathways in MAF lineages compared to MTB lineages. We also found that similar mutations occurred in these pathways between MAF and some MTB lineages. Generally, our findings show further differences between MAF and MTB lineages that may have contributed to the MAF clinical and growth phenotype and indicate potential adaptation of MAF lineages to a distinct ecological niche, which we suggest includes areas characterized by low oxygen tension.