title: The use of pulsed field gel electrophoresis to investigate the epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus infection in commercial broiler flocks.
abstract: Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of SmaI restriction patterns was used to type 109 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus collected from broiler farms and hatcheries in Northern Ireland. Forty-seven isolates from clinical conditions in broilers and 62 strains from hatcheries, were examined. The PFGE patterns demonstrated a similarity between 85% of strains from clinical sources and 71% of the hatchery isolates. The association of disease with the predominant strain type and presence of these same strains in the hatchery, indicates that the hatchery is a potential source of the infection for clinical broiler disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Stormont, Belfast, N. Ireland. j.mccullagh@queens-belfast.ac.uk
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: McCullagh
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: McNamee
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Smyth
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Ball
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000382:microbiology; D002645:Chickens; D003129:Comb and Wattles / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field / Q000379:methods; D007494:Ireland / Q000453:epidemiology; D007596:Joints / Q000382:microbiology; D008099:Liver / Q000382:microbiology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial