EPIDEMIOLOGIC TYPING OF FLAVIMONAS ORYZIHABITANS BY PCR AND PULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

Flavimonas oryzihabitans has emerged as a potential nosocomial pathoge n in recent years. The typing method for characterization of this spec ies has never been reported before. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis ( PFGE) and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-based PCR were used to generate DNA fingerprints for 14 F. oryzihabitans is olates obtained from eight episodes of nosocomial infections during a 2-year period. Both techniques successfully classified these clinical isolates into eight distinct genotypes, thus indicating that all of th ese episodes of infections were independent. In contrast, repeated iso lates from the same patient were assigned to identical genotypes. The reproducibility of both techniques was good. Therefore, we conclude th at both PFGE and ERIC-PCR have comparable reproducible and discriminat ely powers for the typing of F. oryzihabitans and may be useful for cl arifying the epidemiology of this species; however, ERIC-PCR has the a dvantages of both speed acid simplicity.