title: Biotyping, phage typing, and O-serotyping of clinical isolates of Enterobacter cloacae.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to make an independent evaluation of the methods of bio-, phage-, and O-serotyping which had been used only in the laboratory of origin, and to assess the extent of possible cross-infection of Enterobacter cloacae in a Danish university hospital. The material consisted of 237 clinical isolates of E. cloacae from the clinical microbiology laboratory at Hvidovre Hospital. The typability of bio-, phage-, and serotyping was 100%, 83%, and 85%, respectively. Reproducibility of serotyping was 90% and of phage typing 96% if two major differences were allowed to differentiate between patterns. O-serotyping had the highest discriminatory power and combination of all typing methods further increased discrimination. Outbreaks of E. cloacae were not evident in clinical departments, but cross-infections from one department to another could not be completely ruled out. We concluded that the combination of bio-, phage- and O-serotyping is sufficiently discriminating and will be satisfactory in the majority of clinical situations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weischer
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kolmos
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.forename: V T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Rosdahl
mesh_terms: D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D001435:Bacteriophages; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis; D016972:Enterobacter cloacae / Q000145:classification*; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D019081:O Antigens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019081:O Antigens; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial