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Spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Southern Brazilian persons deprived of liberty: a molecular epidemiology study

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Abstract

To evaluate the genetic diversity and clustering rates of M. tuberculosis strains to better understand transmission among persons deprived of liberty (PDL) in Rio Grande do Sul (RS), southern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study, including strains of M. tuberculosis isolated from PDL, stored at the Central Laboratory of RS, in the period from 2013 to 2018. The molecular characterization was performed using the MIRU-VNTR 15 loci method. A total of 598 M. tuberculosis strains were genotyped, and 37.5% were grouped into 53 clusters. Cluster sizes ranged from 2 to 34 strains. The largest cluster of the study had strains from 34 PDL, and 58.8% of the PDL of this cluster were in P01. Among the clusters formed, in 60.3%, there was at least one strain from P01. The most common strains in RS were LAM (53.2%) and Haarlem (31.1%). The LAM strain was the most likely to form clusters, and Haarlem was associated with anti-TB drug resistance. This was translational research, and the results can collaborate with the TB control programs, leading to improved strategies that allow the reduction of the TB burden in prisons.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of SUSEPE (Superintendence of Penitentiary Services), especially the 8th Regional Penitentiary Police Station/RS; LACEN/RS, especially Daniela Becker, and the Rio Grande do Sul State Health Department.

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001, and Programa Pesquisa para o SUS (PPSUS), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), 2017 Finance Code 17/2551—0001465–0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Núcleo de Pesquisa Em Microbiologia Medica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

    Caroline Busatto, Dienefer Bierhals, Carolina Larrosa de Oliveira, Mariana Quaresma de Souza, Andrea Von Groll, Pedro Almeida da Silva & Ivy Bastos Ramis

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Promoção da Saúde, Universidade de Santa Cruz Do Sul, Santa Cruz Do Sul, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil

    Lia Gonçalves Possuelo, Dandara Fanfa & Érika Barreto

  3. 8ª Delegacia Penitenciária Regional, Superintendência Dos Serviços Penitenciários, Santa Cruz Do Sul, RS, Brazil

    Pauline Schwarzbold

  4. Research Institute for Medicines - iMed.ULisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

    Isabel Portugal & João Perdigão

  5. Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso Do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Brazil

    Julio Croda

  6. Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Palo Alto, CA, US

    Jason R. Andrews

  7. Rua General Osório S/N, Centro, Rio Grande Do Sul, Rio Grande, 96200190, Brazil

    Pedro Almeida da Silva

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  1. Caroline Busatto
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  2. Lia Gonçalves Possuelo
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Correspondence to Pedro Almeida da Silva.

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Busatto, C., Possuelo, L.G., Bierhals, D. et al. Spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Southern Brazilian persons deprived of liberty: a molecular epidemiology study. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 42, 297–304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-023-04546-4

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