The use of molecular fingerprinting techniques as tools in environmental hygiene

The analysis of epidemiological pathways for the transmission of pathogens via the environment is a fundamental task in the field of environmental hyg iene. The task demands for a precise differentiation between isolates. This can be done by sophisticated techniques for differentiation which are base d on phenotypic or genotypic features. The fingerprinting of DNA is a power ful tool in this context. A survey is given for different kinds of RFLP-ana lysis, plasmid profiling, and PCR fingerprinting as well regarding their pr inciples, methodical variations and published applications. Notable limitat ions of the applications are also discussed.