{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T18:13:34Z","timestamp":1764785614011,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"American Society for Microbiology","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]],"date-time":"2025-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746489600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]],"date-time":"2025-05-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746489600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/non-commercial-tdm-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.asm.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Microbiol Spectr"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]]},"abstract":"ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n \n \n \n The utility of the superoxide dismutase C (\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n ) gene for detecting\n Neisseria meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n carriage in pharyngeal swab samples is unclear. While it has been explored as an alternative to the capsule transport A gene for detecting invasive strains, its potential as the sole target for real-time PCR in meningococcal carriage screening remains unexplored. This study aimed to assess the utility of using\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n as a target for detecting invasive and non-invasive strains of\n Neisseria meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n in pharyngeal swabs. Oropharyngeal swab samples collected from adolescents (approximately 15\u201318 years of age) enrolled in the \u201cB-Part-of-It\u201d cluster-randomized controlled trial (NCT03089086) were selected for this study. Samples were initially screened for the presence of specific\n N meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n porin A gene (\n porA<\/jats:italic>\n ) using PCR and then preserved by freezing at \u221280\u00b0C. An assay targeting the\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n gene was developed using the locked nucleic acid probe-based method. Upon optimization of the\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n assay, 1,092 samples were retested using this assay and compared against the results from the\n porA<\/jats:italic>\n assays to determine concordance. Out of 1,092 samples tested, 965 (88.4%) were\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n positive, with 100% sensitivity and 13% specificity compared to\n porA<\/jats:italic>\n . The positive predictive values and negative predictive values for the\n sod<\/jats:italic>\n C assay were 12% and 100%, respectively. When compared to\n porA<\/jats:italic>\n PCR as the gold standard, the\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n assay lacks sufficient specificity to serve as a stand-alone screening assay for the detection of\n Neisseria meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n carriage in pharyngeal samples from adolescents.\n <\/jats:p>\n \n IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n \n While the\n sodC<\/jats:italic>\n assay successfully detects\n N. meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n , we identified a limitation in its specificity due to potential cross-reactivity with other organisms, including\n Haemophilus<\/jats:italic>\n spp., which can result in false positives. This limitation highlights the need for careful interpretation of\n Neisseria meningitidis<\/jats:italic>\n carriage results, especially in epidemiological studies.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,8]],"date-time":"2025-04-08T13:15:00Z","timestamp":1744118100000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The lack of specificity of\n sodC<\/i>\n -based PCR for the detection of\n Neisseria meningitidis<\/i>\n carriage in pharyngeal swabs from adolescents"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Dan Duy","family":"Pham-Tran","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"SA Pathology","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5073-2272","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Lex E. X.","family":"Leong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SA Pathology","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6490-7707","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mark","family":"McMillan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccinology and Immunology Research Trials Unit, Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health Network","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]},{"name":"Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrew","family":"Lawrence","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SA Pathology","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]},{"name":"Vaccinology and Immunology Research Trials Unit, Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health Network","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0189-3739","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hassen","family":"Mohammed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccinology and Immunology Research Trials Unit, Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health Network","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]},{"name":"Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Adam","family":"Finn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Schools of Population Health Science and Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol","place":["Bristol, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2521-5166","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helen S.","family":"Marshall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vaccinology and Immunology Research Trials Unit, Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Health Network","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]},{"name":"Robinson Research Institute and Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide","place":["Adelaide, Australia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"235","reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-61779-346-2_1"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2147\/CLEP.S28410"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0244716"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jadohealth.2016.04.012"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_6_2","volume-title":"Laboratory methods for the diagnosis of meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae: WHO manual","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2011","unstructured":"World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2011. Laboratory methods for the diagnosis of meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae: WHO manual. 2nd ed. World Health Organization, Geneva.","edition":"2"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1099\/jmm.0.45847-0"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1590\/0074-0276108022013020"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/374740"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/21645515.2018.1551672"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1139\/cjm-2017-0017"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1086\/367899"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0019361"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ebiom.2021.103274"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_15_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1128\/mSphere.00175-21"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2017-020988"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0209905"},{"key":"e_1_3_3_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/INF.0000000000001237"}],"container-title":["Microbiology Spectrum"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]],"date-time":"2025-05-06T13:04:08Z","timestamp":1746536648000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Sophia B.","family":"Georghiou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"editor","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/spectrum.02779-24","relation":{},"ISSN":["2165-0497"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2165-0497"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2024-10-30","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-01-21","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2025-04-08","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e02779-24"}}