Denning D W, Baker C J, Troup N J, Tompkins L S
Divisions of Clinical Microbiology, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, San Jose, California 95128.
J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Jun;27(6):1352-6. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.6.1352-1356.1989.
Group B streptococci, a frequent cause of neonatal sepsis and meningitis, postpartum endometritis, and bovine mastitis, may be acquired by several modes of transmission. Detailed epidemiologic study is hampered by the lack of a sufficiently discriminatory typing system, especially for type III and nontypable strains. We examined 54 epidemiologically well-characterized strains by restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and compared the results with those obtained by serotyping. REA patterns were inspected without knowledge of the epidemiological or serotyping data. Among 21 type Ia, Ia/c, and Ib/c isolates, we found 10 REA patterns; among 5 type II and IIc isolates, we found 5 REA patterns; among 13 type III isolates, we found 6 REA patterns; and among 15 nontypable human and animal isolates, we found 7 different REA patterns. Double digestion of type III isolates with EcoRI and BglII helped us to distinguish the isolates. In total, 28 REA patterns were found in six serotype groups and one nontypable group. Some geographically and epidemiologically separate isolates had identical REA patterns, suggesting dissemination of a limited number of clones. We conclude that REA is a promising tool for detailed epidemiological study of group B streptococci.
B族链球菌是新生儿败血症和脑膜炎、产后子宫内膜炎及牛乳腺炎的常见病因，可通过多种传播方式获得。由于缺乏足够有区分力的分型系统，尤其是针对III型和不可分型菌株，详细的流行病学研究受到阻碍。我们通过限制性内切酶分析（REA）检测了54株流行病学特征明确的菌株，并将结果与血清分型结果进行比较。在不了解流行病学或血清分型数据的情况下检查REA模式。在21株Ia型、Ia/c型和Ib/c型分离株中，我们发现了10种REA模式；在5株II型和IIc型分离株中，我们发现了5种REA模式；在13株III型分离株中，我们发现了6种REA模式；在15株不可分型的人和动物分离株中，我们发现了7种不同的REA模式。用EcoRI和BglII对III型分离株进行双酶切有助于我们区分这些分离株。在六个血清型组和一个不可分型组中总共发现了28种REA模式。一些地理上和流行病学上分离的分离株具有相同的REA模式，这表明有限数量的克隆在传播。我们得出结论，REA是用于B族链球菌详细流行病学研究的一种有前景的工具。
