Evaluation of polymorphism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and its association with age group and HIV sero-status in Ngaoundéré-Cameroon

Abstract

Pulmonary tuberculosis is a millennial scourge that is still current, and considered one of the most communicable diseases in the world. This study aimed to assess the genetic diversity of isolates of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) from pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Ngaoundéré. We estimates it from newly diagnosed sputum smear-positive patients by spoligotyping method. In total we obtained 21 different profiles including 9 orphan profiles and 12 clusters grouping from 2 to 54 strains. The comparison of the profiles of the strains of Ngaoundéré studied here with those of the strains of the genetically known families and listed in the SpolDB4 database reveals 14 profiles. Of these, 73 (45.6%) isolates belong to the LAM10_CAM family while 67 (41.9%) were non LAM10_CAM strains. Strains classified into non LAM10_CAM family included strains from the T family 38 (23.75%), Uganda family 15 (9.37%), Haarlem family 10 (6.25%), and others. Among the Shared Types, ST 61 member of the LAM10_CAM represented 54 (36.98%) and ST 53 member of the T family represented 24 (16.49%). No correlation was found between the genotypes identified and both the serological status and sex. The results show that M. tuberculosis was the only species incriminated with a strong predominance of ST 61 clones from the LAM 10_CAM family and ST53 from the T family.