POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION-MEDIATED DNA-FINGERPRINTING FOR EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES ON CAMPYLOBACTER SPP

The applicability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-mediated DNA typi ng, with primers complementary to dispersed repetitive DNA sequences a nd arbitrarily chosen DNA motifs, to study the epidemiology of campylo bacter infection was evaluated. With a single PCR reaction and simple gel electrophoresis, strain-specific DNA banding patterns were observe d for Campylobacter jejuni and C. upsaliensis. DNA from multiple strai ns isolated during an outbreak of C. jejuni meningitis generated ident ical banding patterns and could be distinguished from randomly isolate d strains. Strains from a community outbreak of C. upsaliensis, that w ere all identical by conventional typing methods, could be divided int o two genetically different groups. This report illustrates that PCR f ingerprinting can be successfully applied in epidemiological investiga tions of campylobacter infections.