Circulation of M. tuberculosis Beijing genotype in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Lineage 2 (East Asian), which includes the Beijing genotype, is one of the most prevalent lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) throughout the world. The Beijing family is associated to hypervirulence and drug-resistant tuberculosis. The study of this genotype's circulation in Latin America is crucial for achieving total control of TB, the goal established by the World Health Organization, for the American sub-continent, before 2035. In this sense, the present work presents an overview of the status of the Beijing genotype for this region, with a bibliographical review, and data analysis of MIRU-VNTRs for available Beijing isolates. Certain countries present a prevalent trend of <5%, suggesting low transmissibility for the region, with the exception of Cuba (17.2%), Perú (16%) and Colombia (5%). Minimum Spanning Tree analysis, obtained from MIRU-VNTR data, shows distribution of specific clonal complex strains in each country. From this data, in most countries, we found that molecular epidemiology has not been a tool used for the control of TB, suggesting that the Beijing genotype may be underestimated in Latin America. It is recommended that countries with the highest incidence of the Beijing genotype use effective control strategies and increased care, as a requirement for public health systems.

Phylogenomic analysis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis antibiotic resistance prediction by whole-genome sequencing from clinical isolates of Caldas, Colombia

“…The European origin and the influence of European settlers in America and Colombia are confirmed. Similar results have been described by other authors in regions of the country such as Cali [ 33 ] Bogotá [ 34 ] and Medellín [ 35 ]. Contrary to these reports, in Buenaventura, a region of Valle del Cauca, the Beijing lineage, clearly associated with resistant cases has been identified [ 33 ].…”

Profiling the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing family infection: a perspective from the transcriptome

“…The Beijing genotype is frequently associated with antibiotic resistance and immune evasion, allowing high bacterial replication, dissemination, and transmission [44][45][46]. Interestingly, the Beijing genotype is not frequent in Latin America (incidence less than 5%) [47]. The Beijing lineage in Colombia has been circulating in the southwest of the country since 1998 [48].…”

Putative extensive and pre-extensive drug resistant-tuberculosis associated with unusual genotypes on the Thailand-Myanmar border

“…In contrast, a study in Latin America found a low prevalence of Beijing genotypes. A prevalent trend of less than 5% was found, except for Cuba (17.2%), Peru (16.0%) and Columbia (5%) 9 . Sub-typing of a large group of Beijing strains and clusters of non-Beijing genotypes can be achieved by the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) analysis [10][11][12] .…”