M. tuberculosis microvariation is common and is associated with transmission: analysis of three years prospective universal sequencing in England
Authors: Wyllie David , Do Trien , Myers Richard , Nikolayevskyy Vlad , Crook Derrick , Alexander Eliza , Robinson Esther , Walker A Sarah , Campbell Colin , Smith E. Grace 
Published: June 2019

Background

The prevalence, association with disease status, and public health impact of infection with mixtures of M. tuberculosis strains is unclear, in part due to limitations of existing methods for detecting mixed infections.

Methods

We developed an algorithm to identify mixtures of M. tuberculosis strains using next generation sequencing data, assessing performance using simulated sequences. We identified mixed M. tuberculosis strains when there was at least one mixed nucleotide position, and where both the mixture’s components were present in similar isolates from other individuals. We determined risk factors for mixed infection among isolations of M. tuberculosis in England using logistic regression. We used survival analyses to assess the association between mixed infection and putative transmission.

Findings

6,560 isolations of TB were successfully sequenced in England 2016-2018. Of 3,691 (56%) specimens for which similar sequences had been isolated from at least two other individuals, 341 (9.2%) were mixed. Infection with lineages other than Lineage 4 were associated with mixed infection. Among the 1,823 individuals with pulmonary infection with Lineage 4 M. tuberculosis, mixed infection was associated with significantly increased risk of subsequent isolation of closely related organisms from a different individual (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.05,1.94), indicative of transmission.

Interpretation

Mixtures of transmissible strains occur in at least 5% of tuberculosis infections in England; when present in pulmonary disease, such mixtures are associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis transmission.

Funding

Public Health England; NIHR Health Protection Research Unit Oxford; European Union.

Research in Context

Evidence Before This Study

We searched Pubmed using the search terms ‘tuberculosis’ and ‘mixed’ or ‘mixture’ for English Language articles published up to 1 April 2019. Studies, most performed without the benefit of genomic sequencing, report mixed TB infection from a range of medium and high prevalence areas and show it to be associated with delayed treatment response. Modelling suggests detection and treatment of mixed TB infection is an important goal for TB eradication campaigns. Although routine DNA sequencing of M. tuberculosis isolates is becoming widespread, efficient methods for detecting mixed infection from such data are underdeveloped, and the true prevalence of mixed infection and its association with transmission is unclear.

Added Value of This Study

This study investigated a large series of TB isolations obtained as part of a routine Mycobacterial sequencing program by two reference laboratories, in a low incidence area, England. We developed an efficient generalisable approach to identify transmitted mixed M. tuberculosis infection; our approach is capable of sensitive and specific detection of a single mixed nucleotide position. We identified mixed infection of similar strains (‘microvariation’) in about 9.2% of the M. tuberculosis samples which we were able to assess, and found evidence of increased transmission from individuals with mixed infection.

Implications of All the Available Evidence

TB microvariation is a risk factor for TB transmission, even in the low incidence area studied. Although an efficient and highly specific technique identifying microvariation exists, it relies on comparison with similar sequences isolated from other patients. Sharing of sequence data from the many TB sequencing programs being deployed globally will increase the sensitivity of microvariation detection, and may assist targeted public health interventions.