• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 2011

Salmonella spp. is of increasing public health concern as causative pathogens of food poisoning. The aim of this study was to investigate the serotypes and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Salmonella spp. isolated from duck farms in Daegu-Gyeongbuk province. Also, S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium isolates were further examined for plasmid analysis, phage typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). A total of 34 Salmonella spp. (16.4%) were isolated from duck farms and ten serotypes were identified. The predominant serotypes were S. Typhimurium (23.5%) S. Fyris (17.6%) and S. Haardt (11.8%), S. Agona and S. Enteritidis (respectively 8.8%). Of 34 Salmonella isolates, 15 (44.1%) isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent and multiple resistance (resistance to more than 4 drugs) was observed in 9 strains (26.5%). The high resistance was found to streptomycin (32.4%), tetracycline (29.4%), ampicillin, kanamycin and nalidixic acid (respectively, 26.5%), all Salmonella isolates were susceptible to cefoxitin, cefotaxime, gentamicin, amikacin and ciprofloxacin. All S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium isolates were found to contain only one plasmid (ca. 54 or 55kb, respectively). Among the S. Enteritidis isolates, two phage types were found, PT32a and PT1c, respectively, one isolates did not react with any of the phages used. Whereas, all S. Typhimurium isolates were RDNC (reacts but does not conform). PFGE showed to be a useful typing method better than plasmid analysis and phage typing for discrimination of isolates especially, S. Typhimurium isolates. Our results indicated that the serotypes of Salmonella isolates are widely distributed in duck farms, further epidemiological studies should be carried out.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.457-460
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• 2006

A suspicious meningococcal meningitis death case was reported to the Beijing CDC. The blood specimen was analyzed via multi-PCR and MLST. 6 isolates from close contacts were analyzed via PFGE and MLST. According to the results of the above analyses, the cause of this case was identified as a serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis, which, in terms of sequence typing, belonged the ST7 group.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1042-1052
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• 2010

Forty-seven Salmonella Typhimurium (33 zoonotic, 14 clinical) strains were tested for antimicrobial resistance using the standard disk diffusion method. The presence of relevant resistance genes and class 1 integrons were investigated by using PCR. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and plasmid profiling were carried out to determine the genomic diversity of Salmonella Typhimurium. Approximately 57.4% of the S. Typhimurium strains were multidrug resistant (MDR) and showed high resistance rates to tetracycline (70.2%), sulfonamides (57.4%), streptomycin (53.1%), ampicillin (29.7%), nalidixic acid (27.6%), kanamycin (23.4%), chloramphenicol (21.2%), and trimethoprim (19.1%). Resistance towards cephalosporins was noted for cephalothin (27.6%), cephradine (21.2%), amoxicillin clavulanic acid (17.0%), and cephalexin (17.0%). Resistance genes, $bla_{TEM}$, strA, aadA, sul1, sul2, tetA, tetB, and tetC, were detected among the drug-resistant strains. Thirtythree strains (70.2%) carried class 1 integrons, which were grouped in 9 different profiles. DNA sequencing identified sat, aadA, pse-1, and dfrA genes in variable regions on class 1 integrons. Thirty-five strains (74.4%) were subtyped to 22 different plasmid profiles, each with 1-6 plasmids (2.0 to 95 kb). PFGE subtyped the 47 strains into 39 profiles. In conclusion, high rates of multidrug resistance were found among the Malaysian Salmonella Typhimurium strains. The emergence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium to cephalosporin antibiotics was also observed. The strains were very diverse and no persistent clone was observed. The emergence of MDR Salmonella Typhimurium is a worldwide problem, and this report provides information for the better understanding of the prevalence and epidemiology of MDR S. Typhimurium in Malaysia.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.91-98
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• 2008

Background: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is the most common organism associated with nosocomial infections. MRSA infections are becoming increasing important because they have emerged no only as healthcare-associated (HA) infections but also as community-associated (CA) ones. This study examined the moleculo-epidemiology of MRSA, which was isolated from nasal swabs in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Konyang University Hospital. MRSA are classified into HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA. Methods: From June to September 2006, 353 patients who were admitted to the ICU in Konyang University Hospital were enrolled in this study. Single nasal swabs were obtained for culture in the ICU on the 1st day. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and the antimicrobial resistant patterns were analyzed between HA- and CA-MRSA. An antimicrobial sensitivity test was also performed. Results: Forty two strains of MRSA were isolated from 353 patients (11.9%). Among the 42 isolates, HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA were found in 33 (78.6%), and 9 (21.4%), respectively. Eleven different PFGE types (type A to K) were identified. Types A (n=9) and B (n=7) were the most common for HA-MRSA, and types A (n=2) and B (n=2) were identified in CA-MRSA. The proportion of types A and B in CA-MRSA (44.4%) was similar to that in HA-MRSA (48.5%). The rates of resistance rates to erythromycin and ciprofloxacin were higher in HA-MRSA than in CA-MRSA. Conclusion: The rate of isolation of MRSA in an ICU setting was 11.9%. HA-MRSA was isolated more frequently than CA-MRSA. The rate of resistance of HA-MRSA to erythromycin and ciprofloxacin was higher than that of CA-MRSA. Despite the small number of subjects, the main isolates (type A and B) of CA-MRSA were similar to those of HA-MRSA.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.47-53
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• 2011

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (ST) is one of the most common serovars isolated from humans and animals. It has been suggested that ST infections in Koreans are largely due to the consumption of contaminated pork and beef. To investigate the genotypes, phage types, and antimicrobial resistance patterns for ST isolates of different origins, a total of 70 ST strains, including 19 isolates from humans, 44 isolates from pigs, and 6 isolates from cattle, were analyzed using pulsedfield gel electrophoresis (PFGE), phage typing, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. Forty-three distinct PFGE patterns were generated from 70 ST isolates, which were grouped into 14 PFGE groups (from A to N) at the level of 75% similarity. The most prevalent group was the A (A1-A17 subtypes) group, encompassing 54.5% (38/70) of ST isolates. ST isolates from pigs and cattle mostly belong to groups A and L, whereas ST isolates from humans mostly belong to groups F and C. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests using 11 antimicrobial agents showed that resistance to tetracycline (TE) (81.4%) was highly prevalent, followed by streptomycin (S) (64.3%) and nalidixic acid (NA) (31.4%) resistance. A total of seventeen antimicrobial resistance patterns were observed. Only 8.6% of isolates, including a reference strain, were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested. The most prevalent resistance pattern was TE-S (37.1%), which was seen in 66.6% of bovine, 40.8% of swine and 21.1% of human isolates. Three ST isolates from humans (15.9%) showed resistance to 7-8 antimicrobials. The most predominant phage type (PT) was U302 (64.3%), followed by DT170 (10.0%). PFGE types did not coincide with antimicrobial resistance patterns and phage types; therefore, the combination of those types allowed for further differentiation between tested ST isolates.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.695-701
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• 2009

This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of biological critical control points using the genetic profile of Escherichia coli isolates from pork cutting plants. Samples were collected from carcasses, equipment (knife, table, glove, transport belt, boning and skinning machine), the environment (wall and floor), and meat cuts during the cutting process from two plants. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to characterize the E. coli isolates. An identical genotype was detected from the carcasses, equipment, environment, and final meat cuts, and showed that the incoming carcasses, which were contaminated during transportation from slaughterhouses, were a major source of E. coli that was spread throughout processing. Also, consistent cross-contamination due to improper cleaning and disinfection procedures was another possibility. As a result, incoming carcasses and cleaning procedures should be considered critical control points in pork cutting plants, since a heating step is not used to inactivate microorganisms. Furthermore, the high rate (59.6%) of E. coli isolation indicates E. coli can be a good indicator in livestock processing plants even though it has genetic diversity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.1336-1344
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• 2011

This study details and examines a novel ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction (LM-PCR) method. Named the LM-PCR/Shifter, it relies on the use of a Class IIS restriction enzyme giving restriction fragments with different 4-base, 5' overhangs, this being the Shifter, and the ligation of appropriate oligonucleotide adapters. A sequence of 4-base, 5' overhangs of the adapter and a 4-base sequence of the 3' end of the primer(s) determine a subset of the genomic restriction fragments, which are amplified by PCR. The method permits the differentiation of bacterial species strains on the basis of the different DNA band patterns obtained after electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels stained with ethidium bromide and visualized in UV light. The usefulness of the LM-PCR/Shifter method for genotyping is analyzed by a comparison with the restriction endonuclease analysis of chromosomal DNA by the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (REA-PFGE) and PCR melting profile (PCR MP) methods for isolates of clinical origin. The clustering of the LM-PCR/Shifter fingerprinting data matched those of the REA-PFGE and PCR MP methods. We found that the LM-PCR/Shifter is rapid, and offers good discriminatory power and excellent reproducibility, making it a method that may be effectively applied in epidemiological studies.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.309-315
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• 2004

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most common nosocomial pathogens. Many hospitals are facing the problems which they have to use expensive antibiotics and suffer from long term hospital study of patients due to MRSA. This study is to survey MRSA nasal colonization of patients and doctors, and to investigate the mode of transmission of MRSA by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and then use these data to prevent further spread of cross infection and reduce nosocomial infection. Subjects of this study were 201 patients with MRSA infection at an university hospital in Busan from Sept. 1997 to Aug. 1998. Bacterial genotypes of MRSA strains isolated from nares and wound of patients (14 cases) and nares of doctors (8 cases) were analyzed by PFGE. Nasal cultures of 20 I patients for detecting nasal colonization of MRSA were performed and incidence rate of nasal colonization was 40％ (80/201). Among 201 patients MRSA were acquired from hospital in 140 (70％) patients and were acquired from community 61 (30％) patients. Among 14 pairs of MRSA from colonized or infected sites and anterior nares, DNA patterns of 10 pairs (71.4％) were equal. 86％ (12/14) MRSA strains isolated from patients and 12.5％ (1/8) MRSA strains isolated from doctors show same pattern. DNA patterns were changed in some doctors after nasal oint. Treatment. It could be inferred that the most sources of MRSA in hospital are the endemically existing MRSA. Therefore, we believe that it would be necessary to control MRSA nasal colonization of the patients and the related medical teams to reduce the medical cost and to improve the efficacy of medical cares.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.9
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• pp.1643-1649
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• 2016

The aims of this study were to characterize the molecular epidemiological profiles of CTX-M-producing uropathogenic Escherichia coli isolates from a tertiary hospital in Daejeon, Korea, and to investigate the genetic diversity and compare the prevalence of sequence types (STs) in different areas. Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing E. coli strains isolated from urine were analyzed for CTX-M, integrons, and insertion sequence common regions (ISCRs) by PCR and sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), phylogenetic analysis, and rep-PCR were also used for molecular typing of the isolates. Of 80 CTX-M producers, 31 and 46 expressed CTX-M-15 and CTX-M-14, respectively. MLST analysis indicated that the most prevalent ST was ST131 (n = 34, 42.5%), followed by ST38 (n = 22, 27.5%), ST405 (n = 8, 10.0%), and ST69 (n = 6, 7.5%). Most CTX-M producers harbored class 1 integrons. ST131 strains belonged to phylogenetic group B2 and showed identical rep-PCR patterns, whereas ST69, ST38, and ST405 strains belonged to phylogenetic group D; the ST38 and ST405 strains displayed the same rep-PCR pattern, respectively. ST131 and ST38 isolates showed 21 and 19 distinct types, respectively, by PFGE. In Daejeon, D-ST38 CTX-M-14 producers were relatively more prevalent than in other countries and Korean cities. Our results indicate that CTX-M-producing E. coli isolates belonged mostly to ST131 or ST38 and were more related to hospital-onset than to community-onset infections and that the bla_CTX-M gene may vary according to the ST.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1146-1155
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• 2008

A total of 72 Bacillus cereus strains and 5 Bacillus thuringiensis strains were analyzed for their EcoRI ribogroup by ribotyping and for the presence or absence of seven virulence-associated genes. From these 77 strains, 42 distinctive ribogroup were identified using EcoRI, but the two species could not be discriminated by their EcoRI ribogroup. The 77 strains were also examined by PCR for the presence of seven virulence-associated genes, cerAB, pi-plc, entFM, bceT, hblA, hblC, and hblD. All five Bacillus thuringiensis strains were positive for these genes. Although differences in the patterns of virulence genes were observed among the different B. cereus strains, within any given ribogroup the patterns of the seven virulence genes was the same. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis in combination with available chromosomal maps for a selected group of B. cereus strains revealed significant differences in their chromosome size and the placement of virulence genes. Evidence for significant rearrangements within the B. cereus chromosome suggests the mechanism through which the pattern of virulence-associated genes varies. The results suggest linkage between ribogroups and virulence gene patterns as well as no apparent containment of the latter within any particular species boundary.