Use of whole-genome sequencing to detect transmission of group A Streptococcus in Houston, TX

Zain I Alamarat; Misu A Sanson; J Chase McNeil; Carol J Baker; Anthony R Flores

doi:10.1099/acmi.0.000351

Use of whole-genome sequencing to detect transmission of group A Streptococcus in Houston, TX

Access Microbiol. 2022 May 19;4(5):acmi000351. doi: 10.1099/acmi.0.000351. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Zain I Alamarat^{1

2}, Misu A Sanson¹, J Chase McNeil³, Carol J Baker¹, Anthony R Flores^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
² Present address: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA.
³ Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA.
⁴ Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.

Abstract

We used a combination of local, comprehensive strain surveillance and bacterial whole-genome sequencing to identify potential transmission events of group A streptococcus (GAS) in Houston, TX, USA. We identified pharyngeal and skin and soft tissue sources of infection as having important roles in community GAS transmission, including invasive diseases.

Keywords: group A streptococcus; invasive disease; transmission; whole-genome sequencing.