Outbreak of Neisseria gonorrhoeae ST16676 among disseminated infections in Minnesota, USA, 2025
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: ABSTRACT We summarize an outbreak of N. gonorrhoeae ST16676 associated with disseminated gonococcal infections (DGIs) in Minnesota, USA in 2025. This novel strain replaced ST11184 as the predominant sequence type circulating among DGI cases in the state, encoded a porB1a allele, and carried a tetracycline resistance gene on a mobilizable plasmid.
Source: medRxiv
Authors: Daniel Evans, Allison LaPointe, Christine Peel, Khalid Bo-Subait, Elizabeth Dufort, Jenell Stewart, John Kaiyalethe, Bradley Craft, Matthew Plumb, Bonnie Weber, Laura Bohnker-Voels, Kelly Pung, Alyssa Mondelli, Jacob Garfin, Sarah Namugenyi, Paula Snippes-Vagnone, M. Elizabeth Gyllstrom, Kathryn Como-Sabetti, Ruth Lynfield
Institutions: Minnesota Department of Health, University of Minnesota
Language: English
Subfield: Microbiology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: 2019 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LABORATORY CAPACITY FOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ELC), 2024 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LABORATORY CAPACITY FOR PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ELC) - THIS IS OUR REQUEST FOR FUNDING FOR ELC NATIONAL WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE TESTING FOR MPOX CLADE I., STRENGTHENING STD PREVENTION AND CONTROL FOR HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EMERGING INFECTION PROGRAM - THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) IS APPLYING TO CONTINUE TO BE PART OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION EMERGING INFECTIONS PROGRAM (EIP). IN 1995, MDH BEGAN AS ONE OF THE FOUR ORIGINAL EIP SITES, AND WE HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN A PRODUCTIVE AND LEADING EIP SITE EVER SINCE. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROPOSED WORK IS TO PROVIDE HIGH QUALITY SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION TO MONITOR EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES THROUGH ACTIVE, POPULATION-BASED SURVEILLANCE, CONDUCT APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES, IMPLEMENT AND EVALUATE PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTION STUDIES, INFORM PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY, AND SERVE AS A FLEXIBLE PARTNER ABLE TO RAPIDLY RESPOND TO EMERGING THREATS. MDH PLANS TO CONTINUE WITH CORE EIP SURVEILLANCE FUNCTIONS, INCLUDING: ABCS (SELECT BACTERIAL PATHOGEN SURVEILLANCE, EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES FOR VACCINES, GUIDELINES, AND OTHER PREVENTION MEASURES); FOODNET (SURVEILLANCE FOR ENTERIC PATHOGENS TO DETERMINE TRENDS AND RISK FACTORS); FLUSURV-NET (SURVEILLANCE FOR HOSPITALIZED CASES OF INFLUENZA AND VACCINE-EFFECTIVENESS STUDIES); RSV-NET (SURVEILLANCE FOR HOSPITALIZED CASES OF RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS INFECTION AND SPECIAL STUDIES); COVID-NET (SURVEILLANCE FOR HOSPITALIZED CASES OF COVID-19 AND SPECIAL STUDIES); HEALTHCARE ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS (HAI) (SURVEILLANCE, ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE, RISK FACTOR STUDIES, HAI PREVALENCE, AND ANTIMICROBIAL USE STUDIES); TICKNET (SURVEILLANCE FOR LYME DISEASE AND OTHER TICKBORNE DISEASES, RISK FACTOR STUDIES, PREVENTION AND CONTROL EVALUATION); AND, SURVEILLANCE FOR UNEXPLAINED DEATHS AND CRITICAL ILLNESSES OF POSSIBLE INFECTIOUS ETIOLOGY. MDH PROPOSES TO EXPAND EIP ACTIVITIES TO INCLUDE DATA MODERNIZATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE FOR PRION DISEASES (E.G., CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE), AND MPOX VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION. FUNDING IS REQUESTED FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY, PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORY, AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STAFF AND SUPPLIES. MDH HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE A LEADER IN CARRYING OUT ROUTINE EIP FUNCTIONS, SUCH AS COLLECTING AND PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY DATA AND CLINICAL ISOLATES, WHILE ALSO ACTIVELY DEVELOPING STUDY PROTOCOLS, PROVIDING OVERALL SCIENTIFIC LEADERSHIP, TRAINING PUBLIC HEALTH STUDENTS AND CLINICIANS, AND DISSEMINATING IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEALTH FINDINGS. WE WILL CONTINUE OUR LONG-STANDING EXTERNAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH COLLABORATORS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH, MEDICINE, AND VETERINARY MEDICINE; MINNESOTA INFECTION PREVENTIONISTS (APIC-MN); THE MAYO CLINIC; AND LOCAL AND TRIBAL PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES. ALL THIS WILL BE DONE UNDER RIGOROUS OVERSIGHT BY MDH EIP LEADERS, MANY OF WHOM HAVE 20-25 YEARS OF EIP EXPERIENCE. EIP WORK WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED WHILE OBSERVING PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS IN RESEARCH PROVISIONS, AND PRE-ESTABLISHED MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS WILL BE MET CONSISTENTLY., MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PATHOGEN GENOMICS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE - THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (MDH) IS APPLYING TO BE PART OF THE PATHOGEN GENOMICS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE (PGCOE) NETWORK. MDH IS APPLYING FOR THE MANDATORY CORE AND RESPONSE PORTION, AND OPTIONAL EDUCATION PGCOE LEAD PORTION OF THIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITY. THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED MOLECULAR DETECTION (AMD) AT THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) AND STATE PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES OVER THE YEARS ESTABLISHED A COMPREHENSIVE FOUNDATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH INFECTIOUS PATHOGEN GENOMIC SURVEILLANCE. THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND ITS SHOCKWAVE REVEALED THE URGENT NEED TO FURTHER ADVANCE AMD INFRASTRUCTURE AND ORGANICALLY INTEGRATE GENOME DATA INTO ROUTINE PUBLIC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGY PRACTICE. IN ADDITION, THE PANDEMIC AMPLIFIED THE LONG-EXISTING DISPARITIES: HEALTH INEQUALITY IN RURAL AREA AND MINORITY POPULATION; ZOONOTIC DISEASE SURGE ROOTED FROM CLIMATE CHANGE; FOOD SAFETY AND INSECURITY DUE TO ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND PANDEMIC-DRIVEN PUBLIC HEALTH WORKFORCE SHORTAGES. THE PROJECTS OF OUR PGCOE PROPOSAL, WHICH IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR ACADEMIC PARTNERS, ARE INTENDED TO WORK TOWARDS THESE ISSUES. MDH’S PRIMARY ACADEMIC PARTNERS ARE THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND THE MAYO CLINIC, WHERE WE HAVE DEVELOPED PARTNERSHIPS WITH A TEAM OF WORLD-CLASS SCIENTISTS WHO WILL COLLABORATE WITH MDH TO CREATE AND APPLY NOVEL GENOMIC AND BIOINFORMATIC TOOLS TO MONITOR AND RESPOND TO A WIDE RANGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH THREATS. THE DIVERSE PROJECTS PRESENTED IN THIS APPLICATION SPAN FROM NEW ASSAY/WORKFLOW DEVELOPMENT TO RESPIRATORY PATHOGEN BURDEN IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY, TO ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEILLANCE OF PUBLIC HEALTH PATHOGENS, TO EARLY SENTINEL SURVEILLANCE TO MINIMIZE THE THREAT OF FOODBORNE DISEASE, AND FINALLY, TO UTILIZE EXISTING EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO CULTURE FUTURE PUBLIC HEALTH GENOMIC LABORATORIANS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. FUNDING IS REQUESTED FOR MDH STAFF AND SUPPLIES AS WELL AS FOR ACADEMIC COLLABORATORS TO CARRYOUT THE PROPOSED COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS. MDH WILL HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER PGCOE ACTIVITIES WITH AN EXTERNAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WILL ENSURE MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS ARE MET. WITH THE STATE-OF-THE-ART EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, PIONEER SCIENTISTS, LABORATORIANS, EPIDEMIOLOGIST FROM MDH AND ITS LONG-STANDING ACADEMIC COLLABORATORS, AS WELL AS DELIBERATELY PLANNED PROJECTS, MINNESOTA PGCOE WILL HAVE A STATE, REGIONAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPACT TO THE DAILY PRACTICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE PATHOGEN GENOMIC ERA.
OpenAlex ID: W7123439959