MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS OUTBREAK IN BUENOS-AIRES - DNA-FINGERPRINTING ANALYSIS OF ISOLATES

In order to determine the possible relationship among HIV patients coi nfected with multidrug resistant tuberculosis strains who had been rec eiving clinical assistance in our Hospital, clinical and epidemiologic al information from 28 patients was collected. DNA fingerprinting by r estriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) pattern was performed o n the mycobacterial isolates from these patients, using the restrictio n enzyme PvuII and IS 6110 as genetic marker. A unique RFLP pattern wa s found in 10 isolates from 10 different patients who had a disease ca used by a single strain. Our findings confirm RFLP as a reliable and u seful tool to analyze TB transmission.