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Epidemiology of molluscum contagiosum using genetic analysis of the viral DNA
Author(s) -
Scholz J.,
RösenWolff A.,
Bugert J.,
Reisner H.,
White M. I.,
Darai G.,
Postlethwaite R.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890270203
Subject(s) - restriction enzyme , molluscum contagiosum , virology , virus , biology , genome , epidemiology , southern blot , molecular epidemiology , dna , medicine , genotype , gene , genetics , pathology
Abstract The molecular epidemiology of molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) infections was investigated by restriction endonuclease analysis of the genomes of 222 separate isolates collected from 147 patients living in Germany (33 patients), Hong Kong (6 patients), and Scotland (108 patients). MCV type 1 (MCV‐1) caused 96.6% of the infections, and MCV type 2 (MCV‐2) caused 3.4%. However, isolates from four of the 142 MCV‐1‐infected patients and two of the five MCV‐2‐infected patients showed minor differences in their DNA restriction patterns because of the loss of a single or very few recognition sites for the enzymes used. No genome variations were detected amongst isolates collected from different sites or on several occasions from individual patients or from closely related patients. Southern blot hybridization revealed a high level of relatedness between MCV‐1 and 2. No differences were seen in the appearance or anatomical localization of lesions caused by either virus type. In particular, there was no preferred genital localization for MCV‐2 infections.