A complex scenario of tuberculosis transmission is revealed through genetic and epidemiological surveys in Porto

• Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases
• Main Authors: Rito, Teresa S, Matos, Carlos, Carvalho, Carlos, Machado, Henrique Pedro Pereira Silva Amaral, Rodrigues, Gabriela, Oliveira, Olena, Ferreira, Eduarda, Gonçalves, Jorge, Maio, Lurdes, Morais, Clara, Ramos, Helena, Guimarães, João Tiago, Santos, Catarina L., Duarte, Raquel, Correia-Neves, M
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature 2018
• Subjects: Female; Genotype; Humans; Minisatellite Repeats; Molecular Epidemiology; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Portugal; Socioeconomic Factors; Tuberculosis; Genotyping techniques; Epidemiology of tuberculosis; Phylogenetic analysis; Public health; Ciências Médicas::Medicina Básica; Science & Technology; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/57932; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-2968-1

Tuberculosis (TB) incidence is decreasing worldwide and eradication is becoming plausible. In low-incidence countries, intervention on migrant populations is considered one of the most important strategies for elimination. However, such measures are inappropriate in European areas where TB is largely endemic, such as Porto in Portugal. We aim to understand transmission chains in Porto through a genetic characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains and through a detailed epidemiological evaluation of cases. This work was developed under the scope of the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), and supported by contributions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the European Economic Area Grants under the Public Health Initiative programme, (PT06, Project 000138DT1). TR is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/108126/2015) ...