Epidemiology and molecular typing of an outbreak of tuberculosis in a hostel for homeless men.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate a possible outbreak of tuberculosis in a hostel for homeless men using IS6110 profiling, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based fingerprinting technique.


METHODS
Eight cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in residents of the hostel over a period of 28 months. To provide epidemiological data, a heminested inverse PCR (HIP) assay targeting the insertion sequence IS6110 together with its upstream flanking region was used to fingerprint the eight isolates of M tuberculosis under investigation.


RESULTS
The HIP technique gave IS6110 profiles which showed that while three isolates were clearly distinct, the remaining five strains were indistinguishable, suggesting the latter were representatives of a single outbreak strain.


CONCLUSIONS
The HIP assay proved discriminatory and facilitated repeated testing for the direct comparison of strains as more patients presented over the protracted course of this outbreak.
Kearns
A M
AM
Molecular Biology Unit, General Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Barrett
A
A
Marshall
C
C
Freeman
R
R
Magee
J G
JG
Bourke
S J
SJ
Steward
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission
D004269:DNA, Bacterial