Characteristics of invasive Haemophilus influenzae serotype a (Hia) from Nunavik, Canada and comparison with Hia strains in other North American Arctic regions

Objective: : This study examines the microbiological characteristics of invasive Haemophilus influenae serotype a (Hia) isolates from Nunavik (northern Quebec), Canada. The relationship between invasive Hia isolates from Nunavik, Nunavut, Canada, and Alaska, USA will be discussed. Methods: Twenty in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Main Authors: Raymond S.W. Tsang, Jean-Francois Proulx, Kristy Hayden, Michelle Shuel, Brigitte Lefebvre, Andree-Anne Boisvert, Dorothy Moore
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2017.02.003
https://doaj.org/article/8a4b050d62b4410fbf017de35f35be3c
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Summary:Objective: : This study examines the microbiological characteristics of invasive Haemophilus influenae serotype a (Hia) isolates from Nunavik (northern Quebec), Canada. The relationship between invasive Hia isolates from Nunavik, Nunavut, Canada, and Alaska, USA will be discussed. Methods: Twenty invasive Hia isolates were recovered from patients in Nunavik from 2010 to 2013 and characterized by biotype, multi-locus sequence typing, IS1016-bexA deletion, antibiotic susceptibility and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results: All 20 Hia isolates were biotype II, sequence type −23, did not have IS1016-bexA deletions and were susceptible to all antibiotics tested. PFGE showed only two patterns, with 19 isolates giving identical molecular fingerprints, and the remaining isolate gave a PFGE pattern >95% similar. Conclusion: One major clone of Hia appears to be causing invasive disease in Nunavik, Canada. Based on previous studies, Hia from Nunavut were also typed as ST-23, while invasive Hia isolates from Alaska belonged to either ST-23 or closely related STs. Thus invasive Hia in the North America Arctic belonged to the ST-23 clonal complex and lacked the IS1016-bexA partial deletion.