Populations of pharyngeal meningococci in Niger

This study investigated the carriage of Neisseria meningitidis group W135 (NmW135) belonging to sequence type (ST)-2881, ST-11 and NmA ST-7, as these three lineages have been responsible for sporadic cases in 2003 in Niamey (Niger). ST-7 and ST-11 were also the two genotypes involved in recent outbreaks in the African meningitis belt. Among the 97 Nm isolates obtained from 287 schoolchildren swabbed three times, 1 was identified as NmA, 34 as NmW135, 8 as NmY and 54 were non-groupable (NG). Among the 86 isolates genotyped, 59.3% belonged to ST-192, 24.4% to ST-2881, 5.8% to ST-2880, 4.6% to ST-175, 3.5% to ST-4899, 1.2% to ST-11 and 1.2% to ST-7. Most of the isolates recovered were weakly pathogenic Nm NG ST-192 and NmW135 ST-2881. These results, although preliminary, are important to consider before introduction of a NmA conjugate meningococcal vaccine in Africa.