| Research Abstract |
In 1997, we established the typing method for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by an arbitrarily-primed polymerase. Chain reaction. In 1998, we applied this method to several strains of MRSA isolated in Kagawa Medical University Hospital. Usefulness of the typing method by AP-PCR was compared to other typing methods: phenotypic characteristics (production of enterotoxin and TSST-1, antimicrobial susceptibity) and molecular typing procedure (plasmid DNA profile, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [PFGE] . Although traditional epidemiological methods for example, coagulase typing plays a central role in hospital infection control, combination of plasmid DNA profile, AP-PCR, and PFGE may prove to be a particularly informative means of tracking the nosocomial spread of MRSA. Using AP-PCR, we could prove the nosocomial infection caused by cagulase VII positive MRSA strain .
In 1999, we applied this method to other bacteria : Pseudomonas cepacia, Pasteurella multocida, and Mycobacterium avium intracellulare complex, and we demonstrated that AP-PCR could be a useful and simple method to investigate the transmission of several bacteria.
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