Epidemiological survey of an outbreak of multiresistant Serratia marcescens by PCR-fingerprinting

• Published in: Infection 1995-09, Vol.23 (5), p.267-271
• Main Authors: DEBAST, S. B, MELCHERS, W. J. G, VOSS, A, HOODGKAMP-KORSTANJE, J. A. A, MEIS, J. F. G. M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the respiratory system; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Base Sequence; beta-Lactam Resistance; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Outbreaks; DNA Fingerprinting - methods; DNA Primers; DNA, Bacterial; Drug Resistance, Multiple; Genotype; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Intensive Care Units; Medical sciences; Molecular Sequence Data; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; Reproducibility of Results; Serratia Infections - epidemiology; Serratia Infections - microbiology; Serratia marcescens; Serratia marcescens - drug effects
• ISSN: 0300-8126; 1439-0973
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01716283

During an outbreak of Serratia marcescens from May to November 1993 43 strains obtained from 27 ICU patients infected or colonized with multiresistant S. marcescens were genotypically characterized with random amplified polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR)-fingerprinting. In addition, 43 epidemiologically unrelated control isolates were selected. PCR-fingerprinting identified ten different genotypes of S. marcescens among the outbreak related strains. One predominant genotype was demonstrated in 21/43 isolates of 11/27 patients. A cluster of this genotype was found in seven/eight patients on the cardiosurgical ICU. The epidemiologically unrelated strains all showed different genotypes as compared to the predominant type. This survey proved RAPD-PCR to be a highly discriminatory and reproducible method for epidemiological studies of S. marcescens strains in nosocomial outbreaks.