RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Hao, Li A1 Holden, Matthew T. G. A1 Wang, Xin A1 Andrew, Lubomira A1 Wellnitz, Sabine A1 Hu, Fang A1 Whaley, Melissa A1 Sammons, Scott A1 Knipe, Kristen A1 Frace, Mike A1 McNamara, Lucy A. A1 Liberator, Paul A1 Anderson, Annaliesa S.YR 2018 T1 Distinct evolutionary patterns of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B disease outbreaks at two universities in the USA JF Microbial Genomics, VO 4 IS 4 OP SP e000155 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000155 PB Microbiology Society, SN 2057-5858, AB Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MnB) was responsible for two independent meningococcal disease outbreaks at universities in the USA during 2013. The first at University A in New Jersey included nine confirmed cases reported between March 2013 and March 2014. The second outbreak occurred at University B in California, with four confirmed cases during November 2013. The public health response to these outbreaks included the approval and deployment of a serogroup B meningococcal vaccine that was not yet licensed in the USA. This study investigated the use of whole-genome sequencing(WGS) to examine the genetic profile of the disease-causing outbreak isolates at each university. Comparative WGS revealed differences in evolutionary patterns between the two disease outbreaks. The University A outbreak isolates were very closely related, with differences primarily attributed to single nucleotide polymorphisms/insertion-deletion (SNP/indel) events. In contrast, the University B outbreak isolates segregated into two phylogenetic clades, differing in large part due to recombination events covering extensive regions (>30 kb) of the genome including virulence factors. This high-resolution comparison of two meningococcal disease outbreaks further demonstrates the genetic complexity of meningococcal bacteria as related to evolution and disease virulence., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.000155