TY  - JOUR
A1  - Drayß, Maria
A1  - Claus, Heike
A1  - Hubert, Kerstin
A1  - Thiel, Katrin
A1  - Berger, Anja
A1  - Sing, Andreas
A1  - van der Linden, Mark
A1  - Vogel, Ulrich
A1  - Lâm, Thiên-Trí
T1  - Asymptomatic carriage of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Group A Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus among adults aged 65 years and older
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - Objective
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, group A Streptococcus (GAS), and Staphylococcus aureus in asymptomatic elderly people and to unravel risk factors leading to colonization.

Methods
A multi-centre cross-sectional study was conducted including 677 asymptomatic adults aged 65 years or more, living at home or in nursing homes. Study areas were Greater Aachen (North-Rhine-Westphalia) and Wuerzburg (Bavaria), both regions with medium to high population density. Nasal and oropharyngeal swabs as well as questionnaires were collected from October 2012 to May 2013. Statistical analysis included multiple logistic regression models.

Results
The carriage rate was 1.9% ([95%CI: 1.0–3.3%]; 13/677) for H. influenzae, 0.3% ([95%CI: 0–1.1%]; 2/677) for N. meningitidis and 0% ([95% CI: 0–0.5%]; 0/677) for S. pneumoniae and GAS. Staphylococcus aureus was harboured by 28.5% of the individuals ([95% CI: 25.1–32.1%]; 193/677) and 0.7% ([95% CI: 0.2–1.7%]; 5/677) were positive for methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Among elderly community-dwellers colonization with S. aureus was significantly associated with higher educational level (adjusted OR: 1.905 [95% CI: 1.248–2.908]; p = 0.003). Among nursing home residents colonization was associated with being married (adjusted OR: 3.367 [1.502–7.546]; p = 0.003).

Conclusion
The prevalence of N. meningitidis, H. influenzae, S. pneumoniae and GAS was low among older people in Germany. The S. aureus rate was expectedly high, while MRSA was found in less than 1% of the individuals.
KW  - Geriatric care
KW  - Geriatrics
KW  - Elderly
KW  - Staphylococcus aureus
KW  - Nursing homes
KW  - Haemophilus influenzae
KW  - Neisseria meningitidis
KW  - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-201042
VL  - 14
IS  - 2
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Taha, Muhamed-Kheir
A1  - Claus, Heike
A1  - Lappann, Martin
A1  - Veyrier, Frédéric J.
A1  - Otto, Andreas
A1  - Becher, Dörte
A1  - Deghmane, Ala-Eddine
A1  - Frosch, Matthias
A1  - Hellenbrand, Wiebke
A1  - Hong, Eva
A1  - du Châtelet, Isabelle Parent
A1  - Prior, Karola
A1  - Harmsen, Dag
A1  - Vogel, Ulrich
T1  - Evolutionary Events Associated with an Outbreak of Meningococcal Disease in Men Who Have Sex with Men
JF  - PLoS ONE
N2  - Meningococci spread via respiratory droplets, whereas the closely related gonococci are transmitted sexually. Several outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease have been reported in Europe and the United States among men who have sex with men (MSM). We recently identified an outbreak of serogroup C meningococcal disease among MSM in Germany and France. In this study, genomic and proteomic techniques were used to analyze the outbreak isolates. In addition, genetically identical urethritis isolates were recovered from France and Germany and included in the analysis. Genome sequencing revealed that the isolates from the outbreak among MSM and from urethritis cases belonged to a clade within clonal complex 11. Proteome analysis showed they expressed nitrite reductase, enabling anaerobic growth as previously described for gonococci. Invasive isolates from MSM, but not urethritis isolates, further expressed functional human factor H binding protein associated with enhanced survival in a newly developed transgenic mouse model expressing human factor H, a complement regulatory protein. In conclusion, our data suggest that urethritis and outbreak isolates followed a joint adaptation route including adaption to the urogenital tract.
KW  - nitrites
KW  - genome sequencing
KW  - men who have sex with men
KW  - meningococcal disease
KW  - Neisseria meningitidis
KW  - Neisseria gonorrhoeae
KW  - mammalian genomics
KW  - mouse models
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-179870
VL  - 11
IS  - 5
ER  -