ArticlePloS one2018
Epidemiological links between tuberculosis cases identified twice as efficiently by whole genome sequencing than conventional molecular typing: A population-based study.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 48 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reporting practices for genomic epidemiology of tuberculosis: a systematic review of the literature using STROME-ID guidelines as a benchmark.The Lancet. Microbe · 2021Pooled it
- Whole-Genome Sequencing as Tool for Investigating International Tuberculosis Outbreaks: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in public health · 2019Pooled it
- Direct nanopore sequencing ofMicrobial genomics · 2026Article
- Measuring recent in-country TB transmission using a classification model with whole genome sequencing data.IJTLD open · 2026Article
- Whole genome sequencing to characterize the molecular epidemiology and drug-resistance of tuberculosis in Huzhou, China.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Phylodynamic assessment of SNP distances from whole genome sequencing for determining Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Model-Based Analysis of Impact, Costs, and Cost-effectiveness of Tuberculosis Outbreak Investigations, United States.Emerging infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Molecular typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: a review of current methods, databases, softwares, and analytical tools.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Article
- Genomic analysis of lineage-specific transmission of multidrug resistance tuberculosis in China.Emerging microbes & infections · 2024Article
- Association between toxin-antitoxin system mutations and global transmission of MDR-TB.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Considering best practice standards for routine whole-genome sequencing for TB care and control.IJTLD open · 2024Article
- Developing best practice public health standards for whole genome sequencing ofThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2024Article
- Characteristic SNPs defining the major multidrug-resistantEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2024Article
- Whole-Genome sequencing in routineMicrobial genomics · 2024Article
- Improving tuberculosis case detection through contact risk stratification by Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra and spatial parameters: Evaluation of an innovative active case finding strategy in Mozambique (Xpatial-TB).PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Advancing pathogen genomics in resource-limited settings.Cell genomics · 2023Review
- Towards a post-pandemic future for global pathogen genome sequencing.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- Associations between Nutrigenomic Effects and Incidences of Microbial Resistance against Novel Antibiotics.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Relative Positioning of Genotyping and Phenotyping for Tuberculosis Resistance Screening in Two EU National Reference Laboratories in 2023.Microorganisms · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients with Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates sharing identical DNA fingerprint patterns can be epidemiologically linked. However, municipal health services in the Netherlands are able to confirm an epidemiological link in only around 23% of the patients with isolates clustered by the conventional variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) genotyping. This research aims to investigate whether whole genome sequencing (WGS) is a more reliable predictor of epidemiological links between tuberculosis patients than VNTR genotyping.
methodsVNTR genotyping and WGS were performed in parallel on all Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex isolates received at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in 2016. Isolates were clustered by VNTR when they shared identical 24-loci VNTR patterns; isolates were assigned to a WGS cluster when the pair-wise genetic distance was ≤ 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Cluster investigation was performed by municipal health services on all isolates clustered by VNTR in 2016. The proportion of epidemiological links identified among patients clustered by either method was calculated.
resultsIn total, 535 isolates were genotyped, of which 25% (134/535) were clustered by VNTR and 14% (76/535) by WGS; the concordance between both typing methods was 86%. The proportion of epidemiological links among WGS clustered cases (57%) was twice as common than among VNTR clustered cases (31%).
conclusionWhen WGS was applied, the number of clustered isolates was halved, while all epidemiologically linked cases remained clustered. WGS is therefore a more reliable tool to predict epidemiological links between tuberculosis cases than VNTR genotyping and will allow more efficient transmission tracing, as epidemiological investigations based on false clustering can be avoided.
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