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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Feb 1996, 345-351, Vol 34, No. 2
A Leenders, A van Belkum, S Janssen, S de Marie, J Kluytmans, J Wielenga, B Lowenberg and H Verbrugh
During a 2-month period, five patients suffering from invasive infections
caused by Aspergillus flavus or Aspergillus fumigatus were identified in
the Hematology Department of the University Hospital Dijkzigt (Rotterdam,
The Netherlands). To study the epidemiological aspects of invasive
aspergillosis, strains from these patients and from the hospital
environment, isolated during extensive microbiological screening, were
subjected to genotyping. A novel DNA extraction technique, involving
freezing, grinding, and direct lysis in guanidium isothiocyanate-containing
buffers of mycelial material, was applied. DNA isolation was followed by
typing by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis. This
showed that strains isolated from all patients infected with the same
fungal species were genotypically distinct, thus providing evidence against
the possibility of an ongoing, single-source nosocomial outbreak. Strains
could also be differentiated from strains of geographically diverse
origins. However, an A. flavus strain from one of the patients was also
frequently encountered in the hospital environment. As all environmental
strains were collected after this patient had been diagnosed with invasive
disease, the epidemiological value of this observation could not be
ascertained. Intensive investigations showed no single source of A. flavus
or other aspergilli. RAPD genotyping proved that the outbreak of invasive
aspergillosis in the hematology ward consisted of a series of unrelated
events and was not due to a common source within the hospital. RAPD
fingerprinting of aspergilli may greatly facilitate future investigations
of the epidemiology of invasive disease caused by these pathogens.
Copyright © 1996 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Molecular epidemiology of apparent outbreak of invasive aspergillosis in a hematology ward
Department of Bacteriology, University Hospital Dijkzigt, Rotterdam, Netherlands.
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