EVALUATION OF PULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS AND REP-PCR FOR THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF OCHROBACTRUM-ANTHROPI STRAINS

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction genome fingerprinting based on repetitive chromosomal sequences (rep-PCR) wer e used for typing 14 strains of Ochrobactrum anthropi. Six strains iso lated during an outbreak of bacteraemia in patients who had received a contaminated rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin gave identical patterns b y both techniques. Different patterns were found in sporadic and refer ence strains, except for one clinical isolate received from another ho spital that showed the same pattern as the epidemic clone. This patien t had also received rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin from the same sourc e at the time of the outbreak. This study illustrates the advantages o f genetic typing methods in terms of high typeability and discriminati ng power, even for rare pathogens. Furthermore, it highlights the need for interhospital communication for effective identification of commo n sources of outbreaks related to intrinsic drug contamination.