Increase in bloodstream infections caused by 1 group A correlates with emergence of toxigenic M1, Belgium, May 2022 to August 2023.
Juan Pablo Rodriguez-Ruiz, Qiang Lin, Christine Lammens, Pierre R Smeesters, Stefanie van Kleef-van Koeveringe, Veerle Matheeussen, Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar
Author Information
Juan Pablo Rodriguez-Ruiz: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Qiang Lin: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Christine Lammens: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Pierre R Smeesters: National Reference Centre for invasive β-haemolytic streptococci, Belgium.
Stefanie van Kleef-van Koeveringe: National Reference Centre for invasive β-haemolytic streptococci, Belgium.
Veerle Matheeussen: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar: Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Antwerp, Belgium.
Many European countries have recently reported upsurges in invasive group A (iGAS) infections, mainly caused by 1 , specifically the toxigenic M1 lineage. We present the epidemiology of 1 causing iGAS in Belgium during 2018-August 2023, and describe an emergence of the toxigenic M1 lineage in Belgium in mid-2022 that was observed as an increase in bloodstream infections caused by 1 that continued into 2023.
