Legionella pneumophila is an important pathogen responsible for legionellosis.Understanding the genetic diversity,evo-lutionary traits,and potential pathogenicity of L.pneumophila in Fujian Province is crucial for the implementation of effective public health interventions.This study was aimed at investigating these aspects through the analysis of environmental isolates collected from 2019 to 2024.A total of 69 environmental isolates of L.pneumophila were collected,and serotypes were determined with agglutination methods.The predominant serotypes were LP1 and LP5,identified in 23 isolates(33.33%)and 15 isolates(18.84%),respectively.Whole-genome sequencing was conducted to assess the genomic characteristics of these isolates.The genomic sizes ranged from 3.26 Mb to 3.81 Mb,and the GC content ranged from 38.0%to 38.3%.Sequence type(ST)1 880 emerged as the dominant strain among the isolates.All isolates carried several virulence-associated genes,including mip,iraA,htpB,LPG_RS03055,and lspM,thus indicat-ing strong potential for pathogenicity.The prevalence of the multidrug resistance genes lpeA and lpeB was 23.2%,thereby suggesting a concerning level of antibiotic resistance.Various mobile genetic elements,such as genomic islands,insertion sequences,phages,and CRISPR/Cas systems,were also detected.In conclusion,our findings emphasize the importance of continued research and surveil-lance of L.pneumophila,particularly the ST1880 clone,to gain a deeper understanding of its transmission mechanisms and to imple-ment control measures effectively.These insights should aid in enhancing public health responses to legionellosis in Fujian Province.

Legionella pneumophila is an important pathogen responsible for legionellosis.Understanding the genetic diversity,evo-lutionary traits,and potential pathogenicity of L.pneumophila in Fujian Province is crucial for the implementation of effective public health interventions.This study was aimed at investigating these aspects through the analysis of environmental isolates collected from 2019 to 2024.A total of 69 environmental isolates of L.pneumophila were collected,and serotypes were determined with agglutination methods.The predominant serotypes were LP1 and LP5,identified in 23 isolates(33.33%)and 15 isolates(18.84%),respectively.Whole-genome sequencing was conducted to assess the genomic characteristics of these isolates.The genomic sizes ranged from 3.26 Mb to 3.81 Mb,and the GC content ranged from 38.0%to 38.3%.Sequence type(ST)1 880 emerged as the dominant strain among the isolates.All isolates carried several virulence-associated genes,including mip,iraA,htpB,LPG_RS03055,and lspM,thus indicat-ing strong potential for pathogenicity.The prevalence of the multidrug resistance genes lpeA and lpeB was 23.2%,thereby suggesting a concerning level of antibiotic resistance.Various mobile genetic elements,such as genomic islands,insertion sequences,phages,and CRISPR/Cas systems,were also detected.In conclusion,our findings emphasize the importance of continued research and surveil-lance of L.pneumophila,particularly the ST1880 clone,to gain a deeper understanding of its transmission mechanisms and to imple-ment control measures effectively.These insights should aid in enhancing public health responses to legionellosis in Fujian Province.

Objective:To analyze the etiological characteristics of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis caused by serogroup Y Neisseria meningitidis ( Nm) in Fujian Province. Methods:The strain identification, serogroup identification, antimicrobial susceptibility test, molecular typing, average nucleotide identity (ANI), core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST), and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis were performed on eight Nm strains isolated from cases of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis, close contacts, or healthy population. Results:All eight isolates from Fujian Province in 2024 were serogroup Y Nm strains. The antimicrobial susceptibility test for 12 antibiotics showed that all isolates from Fujian Province in 2024 were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and NMFJ202406 and NMFJ202407 isolates were resistant to nalidixic acid and intermediate to ciprofloxacin, while the others were sensitive to antibiotics such as penicillin, cefotaxime, and ceftriaxone. All isolates were ST-1655 sequence type (ST), except for NMFJ202406 isolate which were ST-2039, and all isolates belonged to clonal complex 23 (CC23). The finetyping antigen profile of all isolates were P1.5-1, 10-1: F4-1. ANI and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the isolates in Fujian Province were mainly divided into two clusters, namely NMFJ202401 and its close contact isolates (NMFJ202402-NMFJ202405), as well as NMFJ202406, NMFJ202407, and NMFJ202408 isolates. Compared to the isolates from Guangdong, Shanghai, and Hebei Provinces, the strains isolated in Fujian Province were more closely related to the strains isolated in Canada (NML2019-167, 2019), Japan (NIID501, 2009), and the United Kingdom (CA41956, 2015), respectively. Conclusions:This is the first report of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis caused by serogroup Y Nm isolates in Fujian Province, which might be transmitted from different sources abroad and have spread in many areas. In the future, the wider usage of tetravalent meningococcal vaccine ACYW135 is needed, and the epidemiological and etiological surveillance of serogroup Y epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis should be strengthened.

Objective:To confirm the cross-provincial long-distance transmission events of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by lorry drivers, the origin of infections of the cases and the transmission routes were tracked.Methods:Nasopharyngeal swab specimens from five lorry driver cases of COVID-19, found in Zhangzhou city in March, 2022 when the local outbreaks occurred in adjacent Quanzhou city, Fujian province, were collected to perform 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) targeted genome amplification and followed by next-generation sequencing. The sequences were submitted to online 2019-nCoV analysis platforms to classify the type of variant and mutation sites. Phylogenetic tree for the viruses were constructed by phylogenetic analysis software. Combined with the epidemiological investigation, the origin of infections of the cases and the transmission routes were deduced.Results:Five complete genome sequences, with 29 770-29 839 bp in length and 99.53% average genomic coverage, of 2019-nCoV were successfully obtained. The viruses were all Omicron variants and further divided into three different subclades of BA.2. Of the five strains of 2019-nCoV, three were highly similar to the viruses of two distinct lineages co-circulated in Quanzhou city during the period of local outbreak of COVID-19, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis also revealed that the viruses from three infected lorry drivers were highly homologous to that from local outbreaks in Quanzhou city. The viruses from the rest two cases had seven to fourteen nucleotide mutations (corresponding to 5-7 amino acid substitutions) when compared with the viruses in local outbreaks in Quanzhou city, which excluded the involvement of the two cases into the transmission chains of local outbreaks. Combined with the field epidemiological investigations, the result revealed that the origin of infection of 2019-nCoV of the two sporadic lorry driver cases was outside of Fujian province.Conclusions:With the aid of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics technology combined with field epidemiological investigations, we speculated in this study that at least three origins of infection of 2019-nCoV in five lorry driver cases and cross-provincial long-distance transmission via two sporadic cases infected outside Fujian province when they returned.

Objective To investigate the relationship between intelligence impairment and interictal epileptiform discharges spreading in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy(mTLE)patients. Method We assessed 145 patients diagnosed as mTLE and their general materials, analyzed the relationship between intelligence impairment and interictal epileptiform discharges spreading. Results ①Patients with mTLE with longer disease course and higher frequencies of epilepsy tended to have a severe impairment in the total intelligence quotient (IQ), verbal intelligence quotient (vIQ) and performance intelligence quotient (pIQ). ② IQ of was negatively correlated with the condition that interictal epileptiform discharges spreading to the ipsilateral central and parietal region in patients with left lesion; pIQ was negatively correlated with the condition that interictal epileptiform discharges spreading to the ipsilateral frontal region, while positively correlated with the condition that interictal epileptiform discharges spreading to the ipsilateral occipital region in patients with right lesion. Conclusion ①Intelligence impairment of mTLE patients is related with courses and frequencies.②Total IQ is more severely impaired by interictal epileptiform discharges spreading to the ipsilateral central and parietal region in left mTLE patients, and the pIQ is more severely impaired by interictal epileptiform discharges spreading to the ipsilateral frontal region in right mTLE patients.

Objective To investigate the potential pathogenesis of Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), we performed cDNA microarray analysis to obtain gene expression profile of FCD. Methods Three FCD samples and three normal controls were enrolled. Total RNA of the brain tissues were extracted. The difference gene expressions between FCD group and control group was detected using Affymetrix gene chip. The up and down-regulated genes were confirmed by Real-time PCR. Further, the related signal pathways involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of FCD were predicted by bioinformatics. Result In FCD, two up-regulated genes C21orF2 and AU152162 and 5 down-regulated genes ENPP2, ANLN, IP6K3, UGT8, and AZGP were found. Compared the FCD samples with the normal controls , there were significantly different in all down-regulated genes (P < 0.05), while the up-regulated genes were not (P > 0.05). Using bioinformatics analysis, the ENPP2 , UGT8 , and AZGP1 protein which located in the cell membrane or secreted into the extracellular matrix may be involved in the formation of the myelin sheath and the development of the nervous system by the lipid metabolism and LPA signaling pathway. Conclusion ENPP2, UGT8 and AZGP1 may be involved in pathogenesis of FCD through the process of myelin sheath formation and LPA signal pathway , which warrants further study to know their roles in the pathogenesis of FCD.

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of autism in febrile seizures plus (FS+) and the relationship between autism and SCN1A mutation. Methods Clinical data of 103 patients with FS+ treated in epilepsy centre of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were collected and analyzed. According to the international criteria, generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+), partial seizures with febrile seizures plus (PEFS+), Dravet syndrome (DS) and autism were diagnosed. Genomic DNA was obtained from blood samples. SCN1A were PCR amplified and mutations were detected by DHPLC and sequencing. Result Mental retardation was found in 53.8%of patients with GEFS+, 69.2%of patients with PEFS+, and all patients with DS, respectively. One in GEFS+, one in PEFS+and nine in DS patients were accompanied with autism (P<0.01). Among FS+patients with autism, one SCN1A mutation was found in PEFS+patients, while six SCN1A mutations were found in DS patients. Conclusions Majority of GEFS+and PEFS+patients showed mental retardation, while all the DS patients were accompanied with retardation. The occurrence of autism with DS is higher than GEFS+and PEFS+. No definite relationship between autism and SCN1A mutation was indicated.

The emergence of atypical El Tor strains from V .cholerae in South Asia and Africa has been attributed to several outbreaks in recent decades ,however ,backgrounds of such strains in China remain exclusive .In this study ,PCR am-plification of both El Tor and classical alleles for ctxB ,tcpA ,rstR and hlyA genes was attempted in sixty-nine El Tor isolates from Fujian between 1962 to 2005 ,in addition ,some amplicons were sequence-analyzed .Thus ,the time point of atypical EVC strains in Fujian was determined ,genetic diversities of such strains were investigated .It was revealed that ctxB-Cl ,tcpA-Cl and hlyA genes were detected in O1 serogroup EVC isolates from Fujian since 1962 .Although rstR-Cl gene was solely detected in isolates between 1994 to 2000 .It was indicated by sequence analysis that atypical EVC strains from Fujian possessed a novel T→G mutation at residual 204 of the ctxB gene .Remarkably ,two novel ctxB genotypes (ctxB-10 and ctxB-11) were identified in one strain .The residual 115-C of ctxB in ctxB-11 showed characteristics of ctxB-Cl ,however ,its residual 203-T demonstra-ted characteristics of ctxB-El .This observation implied that it was common in O1 serogroup EVC strains from Fujian hybrid-ized with classical alleles since 1962 ,which would be the earliest time-point for the emergence of atypical El Tor strains hitherto in literature .Emergence of atypical El Tor strains harboring rstR-Cl in Fujian occurred since 1994 .Meanwhile ,novel mutation sites and ctxB genotypes were observed in Fujian isolates ,including diverse combination of ctxB genotypes in one strain and combination of biotype-specific sites in ctxB sequences .In summary ,molecular characterization of O 1 serogroup EVC strains from Fujian was unique and geography-associated .