Epidemiology and molecular characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered from scarlet fever patients in central Taiwan from 1996 to 1999.

ABSTRACT: One hundred seventy-nine Streptococcus pyogenes isolates recovered from scarlet fever patients from 1996 to 1999 in central Taiwan were characterized by emm, Vir, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing methods. The protocols for Vir and PFGE typing were standardized. A database of the DNA fingerprints for the isolates was established. Nine emm or emm-like genes, 19 Vir patterns, and 26 SmaI PFGE patterns were detected among the isolates. Among the three typing methods, PFGE was the most discriminatory. However, it could not completely replace Vir typing because some isolates with identical PFGE patterns could be further differentiated into several Vir patterns. The prevalent emm types were emm4 (n = 81 isolates [45%]), emm12 (n = 64 [36%]), emm1 (n = 14 [8%]), and emm22 (n = 13

SUBMITTER: Chiou CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC516299 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature