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Molecular epidemiology of group B streptococcal infections

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Abstract

Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is a causative agent of sepsis and meningitis in newborns and diseases in pregnant women and nonpregnant adults. Various approaches, including both nongenetic and genetic techniques, are currently used for the study of epidemiology of GBS infections. In the present paper the different methods of molecular epidemiology of GBS infections are reviewed, and several novel approaches are introduced. The advantages and disadvantages of molecular methods are discussed and compared with traditional serotyping technique. The possible use of the molecular approaches for identification of different genetic lineages in GBS as well as for identification and control of the epidemiologically actual clones is discussed.

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Abbreviations

CSF:

cerebrospinal fluid

GBS:

group B streptococci, Streptococcus agalactiae

ID:

index of discrimination

IS:

insertion sequence

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

PFGE:

pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

RAPD:

random-amplified polymorphic DNA

RFLP:

restriction fragment-length polymorphism

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine, 041 81, Košice, Slovakia

    L’. Tkáčiková & I. Mikula

  2. Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 842 45, Bratislava, Slovakia

    L’. Tkáčiková & I. Mikula

  3. Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg, 197 376, Russia

    A. Dmitriev

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  1. L’. Tkáčiková
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  2. I. Mikula
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  3. A. Dmitriev
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Correspondence to A. Dmitriev.

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Tkáčiková, L., Mikula, I. & Dmitriev, A. Molecular epidemiology of group B streptococcal infections. Folia Microbiol 49, 387–397 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354665

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354665

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