Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma.
Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is now largely confined to around 40 low- and middle-income countries. It is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), a contagious intracellular bacterium. The World Health Organization recommends mass drug administration (MDA) with az...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 https://doaj.org/article/f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 2024-09-09T19:28:06+00:00 Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. Anna J Harte Ehsan Ghasemian Harry Pickering Joanna Houghton Ambahun Chernet Eshetu Sata Gizachew Yismaw Taye Zeru Zerihun Tadesse E Kelly Callahan Scott D Nash Martin J Holland 2024-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 https://doaj.org/article/f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143&type=printable https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 https://doaj.org/article/f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 18, Iss 4, p e0012143 (2024) Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 2024-08-05T17:49:14Z Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is now largely confined to around 40 low- and middle-income countries. It is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), a contagious intracellular bacterium. The World Health Organization recommends mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin for treatment and control of ocular Ct infections, alongside improving facial cleanliness and environmental conditions to reduce transmission. To understand the molecular epidemiology of trachoma, especially in the context of MDA and transmission dynamics, the identification of Ct genotypes could be useful. While many studies have used the Ct major outer membrane protein gene (ompA) for genotyping, it has limitations. Our study applies a typing system novel to trachoma, Multiple Loci Variable Number Tandem Repeat Analysis combined with ompA (MLVA-ompA). Ocular swabs were collected post-MDA from four trachoma-endemic zones in Ethiopia between 2011-2017. DNA from 300 children with high Ct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) loads was typed using MLVA-ompA, utilizing 3 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci within the Ct genome. Results show that MLVA-ompA exhibited high discriminatory power (0.981) surpassing the recommended threshold for epidemiological studies. We identified 87 MLVA-ompA variants across 26 districts. No significant associations were found between variants and clinical signs or chlamydial load. Notably, overall Ct diversity significantly decreased after additional MDA rounds, with a higher proportion of serovar A post-MDA. Despite challenges in sequencing one VNTR locus (CT1299), MLVA-ompA demonstrated cost-effectiveness and efficiency relative to whole genome sequencing, providing valuable information for trachoma control programs on local epidemiology. The findings suggest the potential of MLVA-ompA as a reliable tool for typing ocular Ct and understanding transmission dynamics, aiding in the development of targeted interventions for trachoma control. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases 18 4 e0012143 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
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English |
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Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Anna J Harte Ehsan Ghasemian Harry Pickering Joanna Houghton Ambahun Chernet Eshetu Sata Gizachew Yismaw Taye Zeru Zerihun Tadesse E Kelly Callahan Scott D Nash Martin J Holland Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
topic_facet |
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 |
description |
Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide and is now largely confined to around 40 low- and middle-income countries. It is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct), a contagious intracellular bacterium. The World Health Organization recommends mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin for treatment and control of ocular Ct infections, alongside improving facial cleanliness and environmental conditions to reduce transmission. To understand the molecular epidemiology of trachoma, especially in the context of MDA and transmission dynamics, the identification of Ct genotypes could be useful. While many studies have used the Ct major outer membrane protein gene (ompA) for genotyping, it has limitations. Our study applies a typing system novel to trachoma, Multiple Loci Variable Number Tandem Repeat Analysis combined with ompA (MLVA-ompA). Ocular swabs were collected post-MDA from four trachoma-endemic zones in Ethiopia between 2011-2017. DNA from 300 children with high Ct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) loads was typed using MLVA-ompA, utilizing 3 variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) loci within the Ct genome. Results show that MLVA-ompA exhibited high discriminatory power (0.981) surpassing the recommended threshold for epidemiological studies. We identified 87 MLVA-ompA variants across 26 districts. No significant associations were found between variants and clinical signs or chlamydial load. Notably, overall Ct diversity significantly decreased after additional MDA rounds, with a higher proportion of serovar A post-MDA. Despite challenges in sequencing one VNTR locus (CT1299), MLVA-ompA demonstrated cost-effectiveness and efficiency relative to whole genome sequencing, providing valuable information for trachoma control programs on local epidemiology. The findings suggest the potential of MLVA-ompA as a reliable tool for typing ocular Ct and understanding transmission dynamics, aiding in the development of targeted interventions for trachoma control. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anna J Harte Ehsan Ghasemian Harry Pickering Joanna Houghton Ambahun Chernet Eshetu Sata Gizachew Yismaw Taye Zeru Zerihun Tadesse E Kelly Callahan Scott D Nash Martin J Holland |
author_facet |
Anna J Harte Ehsan Ghasemian Harry Pickering Joanna Houghton Ambahun Chernet Eshetu Sata Gizachew Yismaw Taye Zeru Zerihun Tadesse E Kelly Callahan Scott D Nash Martin J Holland |
author_sort |
Anna J Harte |
title |
Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
title_short |
Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
title_full |
Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
title_fullStr |
Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Unravelling Chlamydia trachomatis diversity in Amhara, Ethiopia: MLVA-ompA sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
title_sort |
unravelling chlamydia trachomatis diversity in amhara, ethiopia: mlva-ompa sequencing as a molecular typing tool for trachoma. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 https://doaj.org/article/f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 |
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Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
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Arctic |
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Arctic |
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PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vol 18, Iss 4, p e0012143 (2024) |
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https://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143&type=printable https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2727 https://doaj.org/toc/1935-2735 1935-2727 1935-2735 doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 https://doaj.org/article/f776565d7e4c48f2a78e7f3b10ecec19 |
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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0012143 |
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PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases |
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18 |
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e0012143 |
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