title: Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in Slovenia: results of a one-year (2001) nation-wide study.
abstract: Slovenia is a small Central European country with a population of 1.99 million and an incidence of tuberculosis (TB) of 18.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2001. In a prospective nation-wide, 1-y DNA fingerprinting study, the genetic diversity of 99.7% of all Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates obtained from Slovenian patients with culture-verified TB in 2001 were assessed using a standardized IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. Among 306 M. tuberculosis isolates, 228 different IS6110 RFLP patterns were found. The number of IS6110 copies varied from 2 to 16 (9.2 copies per isolate on average). Only 2 isolates (0.7%) with less than 5 IS6110 copies were identified. Clustered M. tuberculosis isolates were detected in 116 (37.9%) patients. The degree of recent transmission in the 1-y period was 25%. The clustering rate decreased with age from 46.4% (age group under 35 y) to 19.5% (age group above 65 y). A history of alcohol abuse and homelessness was found to be associated with clustering of TB cases. In conclusion, a high clustering frequency was identified among Slovenian TB patients. The study increased our understanding of important risk factors and routes of TB transmission in Slovenia.
authors.affiliation: University Clinic of Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Golnik, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Manca
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zolnir-Dovc
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poljak
authors.forename: Damijan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Erzen
authors.forename: Jurij
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sorli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016358:Contact Tracing; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017678:Sex Distribution; D017524:Slovenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000635:transmission*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial