Abstract
The analysis of genomic DNA fragment patterns has revealed as a powerful tool for strain discrimination inStaphylococcus 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.
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Dr Witte, W., Cuny, C., Zimmermann, O. et al. Stability of genomic DNA fragment patterns in methicillin resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) during the course of intra- and interhospital spread. Eur J Epidemiol 10, 743–748 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01719292
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01719292