Onset of infectiousness explains differences in transmissibility across Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages
Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineages show substantial variability in virulence, but the epidemiological consequences of this variability have not been studied in detail. Here, we aimed for a lineage-specific epidemiological characterization by applying phylodynamic models to genomic data from different countries, representing the most abundant MTBC lineages. Our results suggest that all lineages are associated with similar durations and levels of infectiousness, resulting in similar reproductive numbers. However, L1 and L6 are associated with a delayed onset of infectiousness, leading to longer periods between subsequent transmission events. Together, our findings highlight the role of MTBC genetic diversity in tuberculosis disease progression and transmission.
Authors
- Cecilia Valenzuela Agüí (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2774-4822)
- Etthel M. Windels (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2106-6765)
- Daniela Brites (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8090-2287)
- Bouke C. de Jong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1017-4675)
- Conor Joseph Meehan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0724-8343)
- Tanja Stadler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6431-535X)
- Sònia Borrell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6661-6957)
- Galo Adrián Goig (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4136-6610)
- Chloé Loiseau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4889-2784)
- Sébastien Gagneux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783-9048)
- Michaela Zwyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3864-1503)
Institutions
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (CH)
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (CH)
- University of Basel (CH)
- Nottingham Trent University (GB)
- Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde (BE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Epidemics
- Published
- 2025-03-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epidem.2025.100821
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.19
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Universität Basel
- European Commission
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council