First insights into the genetic composition of M. tuberculosis population circulating in Kosovo
Tuberculosis incidence in Kosovo is among one of the highest in Europe at 33/100,000 citizens. While World Health Organization encourages epidemiological monitoring of tuberculosis transmission, studies regarding <i>M. tuberculosis</i> population structure in the Balkan region are limited. Here, we used spoligotyping and whole genome sequencing to describe the variation of <i>M. tuberculosis</i> strains circulating in Kosovo. We used samples isolated from patients in the period 2021/2022. We found that the vast majority of isolated strains belonged to spoligotype based Euro-American lineage, five strains belonged to East-Asian lineage, and one was <i>M. caprae</i>. We described the general characteristics of the <i>M. tuberculosis</i> population in our study and identified chains of transmission based on whole genome sequencing data of selected samples. Our data will be a reference point for subsequent studies of <i>M. tuberculosis</i> population in Kosovo.
Authors
- Ewa Augustynowicz–Kopeć (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6162-8748)
- Alina Minias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3210-6737)
- Xhevat Jakupi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9453-596X)
- Greta Lila (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1551-5464)
- Dominik Strapagiel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9752-4270)
- Anna Zabost (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2781-9844)
- Jarosław Dziadek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-884X)
- Marcin Słomka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7906-5549)
- Rrezarta Bajrami
- Monika Kozińska (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1968-6818)
- Magdalena Kuzioła
- Zana Kacaniku
- Florin Ahmeti
- Nazmi Mehmeti
- Blendi Jerliu
- Albuena Miftari
- Xhevat Shkodra
Institutions
- University of Łódź (PL)
- University Clinical Center of Kosovo (XK)
- Institute for Medical Biology (PL)
- Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases
- Published
- 2025-06-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jctube.2025.100537
- Primary Topic
- Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Narodowe Centrum Nauki
- Narodowym Centrum Nauki