1. Stability of genomic DNA fragment patterns in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the course of intra- and interhospital spread.
- Author
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Witte W, Cuny C, Zimmermann O, Rüchel R, Höpken M, Fischer R, and Wagner S
- Subjects
- Cross Infection epidemiology, Disease Outbreaks, Drug Resistance, Multiple genetics, Germany epidemiology, Humans, Phenotype, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Staphylococcal Infections epidemiology, Staphylococcus aureus classification, Surgery Department, Hospital, Urology Department, Hospital, Cross Infection genetics, DNA, Bacterial genetics, Genome, Bacterial, Methicillin Resistance genetics, Staphylococcal Infections genetics, Staphylococcus aureus genetics
- Abstract
The analysis of genomic DNA fragment patterns has revealed as a powerful tool for strain discrimination in Staphylococcus aureus; for use as an epidemiological marker, stability during the course of an outbreak is an essential prerequisite. Genomic DNA fragment patterns (SmaI restriction, pulsed-field electrophoresis) of four different epidemic MRSA strains were compared along with intra- and interhospital and country-wide spread over more than 12 months in Germany. Strain I was isolated from infections in 8 hospitals. In one hospital a subclone arised which differed from the original strain by 4 fragments. Strain II was spread among 4 hospitals, isolates from three of these hospitals exhibited a variability of one to three fragments in the 150-200 kb range. Two hospitals in the Hannover-area were affected by strain III; in 17 isolates of this strain a variability up to three fragments was found in the 170-200 kb range. Strain IV was isolated from 19 cases of infections in 3 hospitals in Berlin. The fragment patterns were completely stable. When S. aureus strains are typed by genomic DNA fragment patterns, a variability in a definite range of molecular masses during the course of an epidemic should be taken into consideration.
- Published
- 1994
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