Understanding meningococcal carriage and disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A multi-centre cross sectional study of meningococcal oropharyngeal carriage in healthy teenagers in the UK
IRAS ID
154609
Contact name
Martin C J Maiden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Research summary
Background: Meningococci are usually carried harmlessly in the oropharynx but sometimes cause devastating invasive disease. We undertook surveys of oropharyngeal carriage of meningococci for three consecutive years between 1999 and 2001 before and after the introduction of meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccines and established large collections of carried isolates. This corresponded to a time of unprecedented meningococcal disease incidence, the highest seen in the post-war period and 4-5 times higher than current disease incidence. We propose to collect a similar sample of carried meningococci fifteen years later at a time of unusually low disease incidence and prior to any changes in the National immunization schedule involving MCC vaccine boosters to teenagers and the introduction of the novel vaccine Bexsero® into the infant schedule. These samples will form the basis of a genetic association study of the whole genome sequences of representative disease and carriage meningococcal isolates from high and low incidence periods.
Questions it will answer: What are the genetic characteristics that define invasive epidemic meningococci? How has the population of meningococci changed over the last 15 years? What are the risk factors for meningococcal carriage?
Why is this important?: By comprehensively cataloguing genome-wide meningococcal variation in well-characterized isolates with different phenotypes, these studies will identify the population of circulating meningococci, and will improve our understanding of epidemic meningococci and why meningococcal disease incidence varies over time.
Potential benefits: This research will help guide decisions on National Immunisation strategies for meningococcal vaccines in the future.
Study Design: A multi-centre cross sectional observational survey of meningococcal carriage with a questionnaire in 18,000 healthy teenagers aged 15-19 years.
What is involved for participants?: A single oropharyngeal swab and a brief questionnaire about themselves and their lifestyle that affect meningococcal carriage. In Glasgow, a single saliva sample will be collected.Funding: Wellcome Trust
REC name
South Central - Oxford A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1163
Date of REC Opinion
18 Aug 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion