Meningococcal B vaccine antigen FHbp variants among disease-causing Neisseria meningitidis B isolates, Italy, 2014–2017

摘要

Background Typing of Neisseria meningitidis isolates is crucial for the surveillance of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). We performed a molecular epidemiology study of N . meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) causing IMD in Italy between 2014 and 2017 to describe circulating strains belonging to this serogroup, with particular regards to the two factor H-binding protein (FHbp) subfamilies present in the bivalent MenB vaccine.