Longitudinal genomic analysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae transmission dynamics in Australia

ML Taouk; G Taiaroa; S Duchene; SJ Low; CK Higgs; DYJ Lee; S Pasricha; N Higgins; DJ Ingle; BP Howden; MY Chen; CK Fairley; EPF Chow; DA Williamson

Journal article

Longitudinal genomic analysis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae transmission dynamics in Australia

ML Taouk, G Taiaroa, S Duchene, SJ Low, CK Higgs, DYJ Lee, S Pasricha, N Higgins, DJ Ingle, BP Howden, MY Chen, CK Fairley, EPF Chow, DA Williamson

Nature Communications | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2024

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52343-0

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Abstract

N. gonorrhoeae, which causes the sexually transmissible infection gonorrhoea, remains a significant public health threat globally, with challenges posed by increasing transmission and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The COVID-19 pandemic introduced exceptional circumstances into communicable disease control, impacting the transmission of gonorrhoea and other infectious diseases. Through phylogenomic and phylodynamic analysis of 5881 N. gonorrhoeae genomes from Australia, we investigated N. gonorrhoeae transmission over five years, including a time period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a novel cgMLST-based genetic threshold, we demonstrate persistence of large N. gonorrhoeae genomic clus..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

George Taiaroa Author

Sebastian Duchene Garzon Author

Soo Jen Low Author

Shivani Pasricha Author

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Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council

Funding Acknowledgements

MLT is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Programme Scholarship. DAW is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant (GNT1174555) and a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Grant (FSPGN000045). BPH is supported by NHMRC Investigator Grant (GNT1196103). CKF is supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1172900). EPFC is supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant (GNT1172873). SD is supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Grant (DE190100805) and an NHMRC Investigator Grant (GNT1157586) and by the Inception Programme Investissement d' Avenir Grant (ANR-16-CONV-0005). DJI is supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant (GNT1195210). This work was also supported by an ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub Grant (IH190100021). MDU PHL is funded by the Victorian Government, Australia.