Genetic monitoring of endemic measles virus circulation in European countries
Introduction. The measles virus is still one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in children and adults and is a threat of infectious outbreaks in many countries around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO), at the 2015 meeting in Europe, set out to eliminate measles infection. To control the elimination of this disease requires the accumulation of genotyping data of the detected measles virus to interrupt the situation of endemic spread. All six WHO regions have set a target for combating measles. In order to monitor and evaluate the degree of endemic circulation of measles virus (MV), the transmission chains of the epidemiologically relevant variants of MV identified in Central and Western Europe are analyzed. More systematic molecular monitoring and recording of MV transmission data between many countries can help to create a meaningful picture of the process of eliminating the problem of the occurrence and spread of measles infection. Goal. To study whether molecular surveillance meets the challenge of eliminating measles infection with the assurance of molecular data quality, continuity and intensity of molecular monitoring and analysis of transmission chains in different geographical regions. Material & methods. Published articles, molecular program for external WHO quality assessment, WHO EUR central infectious disease information system, and WHO measles surveillance database. Results & discussion. According to the WHO standardized nomenclature using the nucleotide (nt) sequences of the N and H variable genes, wild-type measles viruses are currently divided into 24 genotypes. The most variable is the 450-nt variable coding sequence of the C-terminal portion of the N protein (N-450 region) and is used to differentiate detected MV for observation. Antigenic differences between measles virus strains - representatives of different genotypes are minimal, all known genotypes of the virus belong to one serotype. Since the beginning of molecular surveillance in Europe in the early ...