and as Associated with Periodontal Attachment Loss in a Cohort of Ghanaian Adolescents.

The aims of the present study were to document the presence of and the emerging oral pathogen , as well as to identify genotypes of these bacterial species with enhanced virulence. In addition, these data were analyzed in relation to periodontal pocket depth (PPD) and the progression of PPD from the sampled periodontal sites during a two-year period. Subgingival plaque samples were collected from 172 periodontal pockets of 68 Ghanaian adolescents. PPD at sampling varied from 3-14 mm and the progression from baseline, i.e., two years earlier up to 8 mm. The levels of and were determined with quantitative PCR. The highly leukotoxic JP2-genotype of and the a gene of , encoding a putative Repeats-in-Toxin (RTX) protein, were detected with conventional PCR. The prevalence of was 57%, and 14% of the samples contained the JP2 genotype. was detected in 92% of the samples and the gene in 52%. The levels of these bacterial species were significantly associated with enhanced PPD and progression, with a more pronounced impact in sites positive for the JP2 genotype or the gene. Taken together, the results indicate that the presence of both and with their RTX proteins are linked to increased PPD and progression of disease.