THE EPIDEMIOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF YEASTS BY P ULSED-FIELD GEL-ELECTROPHORESIS

Up to now, pulsed field gelelectrophoresis (PFGE) has been used succes sfully for the analysis of the chains of infection of multiresistant s taphylococci, enterococci and other germs involved in hospitalism. The purpose of this study was to find out whether yeast isolates from mot hers and those from their newborns differed in genotypes. In this inve stigation, 103 parturient mothers and their children were examined for colonization by yeasts in sampling the vaginal secreta at delivery an d by taking swabs from the oral mucosa and the anus of the children on the third day after parturition. The samples were cultured on Saboura ud glucose agar and incubated for 48 hrs at 37 degrees C. The differen tiation of the isolates was done biochemically by means of the VITEK-A MS system and morphologically on rice-extract agar. Subsequently DNA-f ingerprinting analysis was carried out. In 6 cases we could prove the presence of Candida spp. in the mothers as well as in their children. In all cases the strains from mother and child showed the same banding pattern. Likewise, the strains isolated out of the vaginal secretum a nd the vaginal epithelium of individual women were identical. The diff erences observed between strains isolated from various women were of l ow or medium degree. This shows the PFGE to be an efficient procedure to demonstrate the relation of strains derived from mothers and their new-barns.