SUBTYPING OF CAMPYLOBACTER-JEJUNI PENNER HEAT-STABLE (HS) SEROTYPE-11ISOLATES FROM HUMAN INFECTIONS

High resolution molecular subtyping was applied to Campylobacter jejun i Penner heat-stable (HS) 11 isolates from human infections and other sources. Strains were genotyped by restriction fragment length polymor phism analysis involving PCR-based flagellin gene (flaA) profiling wit h HinfI and DdeI, and pulsed-field gel electrophoretic (PFGE) profilin g with SmaI and KpnI. Fla-genes of the strains were highly conserved a s most (95%) had the same fla-profile. PFGE analysis of SmaI digests w as more discriminatory with 15 profile subtypes identified, although 3 6% of isolates had a common profile. The study showed that strains of C. jejuni HS11, unlike those of HS1 and the HS4 complex, were relative ly homogeneous at the genomic level and that high resolution molecular techniques were essential for detailed epidemiological subtyping.