Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W135 in Portugal: presence of the ST-11/ET-37 clonal complex.

ABSTRACT

Invasive serogroup W135 Neisseria meningitidis strains were isolated in Portugal between 1995 and 2002. Nine of 12 isolates showed "Hajj-2000"-associated phenotypes and belonged to the ST-11/ET-37 clonal complex. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis clustered the ST-11/ET-37 isolates together with the "Hajj-2000" strain although the profiles were distinguishable.