title: Characterization of Finnish Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates by spoligotyping.
abstract: The molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) in Finland was studied by spoligotyping 380 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. The isolates were obtained during a 1-year study period from July 2000 to June 2001 and represented 90% of new M. tuberculosis findings by culture in the whole country during the study period. The spoligotyping results were compared to the World Spoligotyping Database of the Institut Pasteur de Guadeloupe, which contains data from >14,000 M. tuberculosis isolates obtained worldwide. A total of 138 different spoligotypes were identified among the 380 M. tuberculosis isolates. Thirty-eight (10%) isolates had unique spoligotypes, while 342 (90%) isolates belonged to 100 shared types. The four most common spoligotypes caused approximately one-third of the Finnish TB cases. Forty-seven of the 138 (34.1%) spoligotypes and 61 (16.1%) of the 380 M. tuberculosis isolates had spoligotypes that had not been previously reported. Only four (1.1%) patients were infected with an isolate belonging to the Beijing genotype. The characterization of Finnish M. tuberculosis isolates by spoligotyping shows that ubiquitous spoligotypes were common, but many spoligotypes specific to Finland were also found. However, Beijing family isolates were rarely encountered, although this spoligotype is predominant in our eastern and southern neighbors.
authors.affiliation: Mycobacterial Reference Laboratory, National Public Health Institute, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Kirsi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Puustinen
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marjamäki
authors.forename: Nalin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rastogi
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sola
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Filliol
authors.forename: Petri
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ruutu
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Holmström
authors.forename: Matti K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Viljanen
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soini
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000032:analysis*; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D009841:Oligonucleotides