Molecular fingerprinting of Mycobacterium abscessus strains in a cohort of pediatric cystic fibrosis patients

J Clin Microbiol. 2012 May;50(5):1758-61. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00155-12. Epub 2012 Mar 7.

Abstract

Forty-one Mycobacterium abscessus complex isolates from 17 pediatric cystic fibrosis (CF) patients were typed using a novel variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) scheme and an automated repetitive-PCR (rep-PCR) system. Both VNTR and rep-PCR typing methods differentiate between members of the M. abscessus complex. The isolates from individual patients are indistinguishable, and the data strongly suggest that individual CF patients are persistently infected with one strain and also suggests that different CF patients can harbor the same strain.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bacterial Typing Techniques / methods*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cystic Fibrosis / complications*
  • DNA Fingerprinting / methods*
  • Humans
  • Minisatellite Repeats
  • Mycobacterium / classification*
  • Mycobacterium / genetics*
  • Mycobacterium / isolation & purification
  • Mycobacterium Infections / diagnosis*
  • Mycobacterium Infections / microbiology*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods