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How to Select and Interpret Molecular Strain Typing Methods for Epidemiological Studies of Bacterial Infections A Review for Healthcare Epidemiologists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Fred C. Tenover ,
Robert D. Arbeit ,
Richard V. Goering  and
Molecular Typing Working Group of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Fred C. Tenover*
Affiliation:
Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
Robert D. Arbeit
Affiliation:
The Boston Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Richard V. Goering
Affiliation:
The Department of Medical Microbiology, Creighton University, Creighton, Nebraska
*
Nosocomial Pathogens Laboratory Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA 30333
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Abstract

Strain typing is an integral part of epidemiological investigations of nosocomial infections. Methods for distinguishing among bacterial strains have improved dramatically over the last 5 years, due mainly to the introduction of molecular technology. Although not all molecular techniques are equally effective for typing all organisms, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is the technique currently favored for most nosocomial pathogens. Criteria to aid epidemiologists in interpreting results have been published. Nucleic acid amplification-based typing methods also are applicable to many organisms and can be completed within a single day, but interpretive criteria still are under debate. Strain typing cannot be used to replace a sound epidemiological investigation, but serves as a useful adjunct to such investigations.

Type
SHEA Position Paper
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , June 1997 , pp. 426 - 439
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1997

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