title: How to select and interpret molecular strain typing methods for epidemiological studies of bacterial infections: a review for healthcare epidemiologists. Molecular Typing Working Group of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
abstract: Strain typing is an integral part of epidemiological investigations of nosocomial infections. Methods for distinguishing among bacterial strains have improved dramatically over the last 5 years, due mainly to the introduction of molecular technology. Although not all molecular techniques are equally effective for typing all organisms, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is the technique currently favored for most nosocomial pathogens. Criteria to aid epidemiologists in interpreting results have been published. Nucleic acid amplification-based typing methods also are applicable to many organisms and can be completed within a single day, but interpretive criteria still are under debate. Strain typing cannot be used to replace a sound epidemiological investigation, but serves as a useful adjunct to such investigations.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Tenover
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Arbeit
authors.forename: R V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Goering
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical