Identification of a UK outbreak strain of Neisseria meningitidis with a DNA probe.

To investigate the epidemiology of meningococcal disease, a specific DNA probe pUS210 (carrying insert DNA which is repeated in the meningococcal genome) was isolated. The ability of this probe to hydridise with multiple polymorphic fragments in Southern blots was exploited to examine genetic relations within strains. Two geographically distinct foci of prolonged meningococcal disease (Gloucester and Plymouth, UK) are due to a clonal population of virulent strains that are distinct from those found elsewhere in the UK.