Genetic Diversity of Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine Antigens among Carriage Isolates Collected from Students at Three Universities in the United States, 2015–2016

The impact of serogroup B meningococcal (MenB) vaccines on carriage is not completely understood. Using whole-genome sequencing data, we assessed the diversity and distribution of MenB vaccine antigens (particularly FHbp) among 1,514 meningococcal carriage isolates recovered from vaccinated and unvaccinated students at three U.S. universities, two of which underwent MenB-FHbp mass vaccination campaigns following meningococcal disease outbreaks.