Open AccessMolecular epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in a cystic fibrosis outpatient clinic
Author(s) -
Luiz Vicente Ferreira da Silva Filho,
José Eduardo Levi,
Christi. O. Bento,
Joaquim Carlos Rodrigues,
Sônia R. T. Da Silva Ramos
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of medical microbiology/journal of medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1473-5644
pISSN - 0022-2615
DOI - 10.1099/0022-1317-50-3-261
Subject(s) - pseudomonas aeruginosa , cystic fibrosis , sputum , rapd , medicine , epidemiology , typing , outpatient clinic , respiratory tract , genotype , molecular epidemiology , respiratory tract infections , respiratory system , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , biology , tuberculosis , bacteria , gene , genetics , population , environmental health , genetic diversity
Chronic respiratory infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a significant determinant in the prognosis of cystic fibrosis patients. Cross-infection between cystic fibrosis patients and the prevalence of P. aeruginosa among them were investigated by microbiological surveillance and RAPD typing of the isolates. A total of 748 samples was cultured, including specimens from the respiratory tract (sputum or throat swabs) and hands of patients and medical staff, resulting in the collection of 86 isolates of P. aeruginosa from 65 samples. Prevalence of P. aeruginosa was 39.3% in respiratory samples, 0.2% on patients' hands and none in the medical staff's hand samples. RAPD typing characterised 51 genotypes and clonal persistence was observed in the majority of patients. These results suggest that cross-infection is not common in the outpatient clinic studied and a common source of acquisition is unlikely.