Utility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome sequencing snapshots to assess transmission dynamics over time

Courtney M Yuen; Chuan-Chin Huang; Ana Karina Millones; Roger I Calderon; Abigail L Manson; Judith Jimenez; Carmen Contreras; Ashlee M Earl; Mercedes C Becerra; Leonid Lecca; Megan B Murray

doi:10.1093/infdis/jiad515

Utility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome sequencing snapshots to assess transmission dynamics over time

J Infect Dis. 2023 Nov 23:jiad515. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad515. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Division of Global Health Equity, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Socios En Salud Sucursal Peru, Lima, Peru.
⁴ Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.

PMID: 37995298
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad515

Abstract

We explored the utility of brief Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole-genome sequencing (WGS) "snapshots" at a sentinel site within Lima, Peru for evaluating local transmission dynamics over time. Within a 17 km2 area, 15/70 (21%) isolates with WGS collected during 2011-2012 and 22/81 (27%) collected during 2020-2021 were clustered (p = 0.414), and additional isolates clustered with those from outside the area. Isolates from the later period were disproportionately related to large historic clusters in Lima from the earlier period. WGS snapshots at a sentinel site may not be useful for monitoring transmission, but monitoring the persistence of large transmission clusters might be.

Keywords: Disease transmission; cluster analysis; infectious; molecular epidemiology.

Grants and funding

DP2 MD015102/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/United States