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Three deadly bacteria families responsible for nearly 60% of meningococcal cases

Research

Scientists at Oxford University have identified the key groups of bacteria responsible for the majority of meningococcal disease cases in England and Wales over the past 20 years.

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Genome analysis of 899 individual bacterial isolates revealed the presence of 20 families, or lineages, of the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis in England and Wales over the two-year period between 2010 and 2012. But only three of these lineages caused 59% of cases. Researchers were able to compare this with previous data to shed light on disease fluctuations over more than 20 years.

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