title: Campylobacter jejuni multilocus sequence types in humans, northwest England, 2003-2004.
abstract: Detailed understanding of the epidemiology of Campylobacter is increasingly facilitated through use of universal and reproducible techniques for accurate strain differentiation and subtyping. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) enables discriminatory subtyping and grouping of isolate types into genetically related clonal complexes; it also has the advantage of ease of application and repeatability. Recent studies suggest that a measure of host association may be distinguishable with this system. We describe the first continuous population-based survey to investigate the potential of MLST to resolve questions of campylobacteriosis epidemiology. We demonstrate the ability of MLST to identify variations in the epidemiology of campylobacteriosis between distinct populations and describe the distribution of key subtypes of interest.
authors.affiliation: Health Protection Agency (North West), Liverpool, United Kingdom. will.sopwith@hpa.org.uk
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sopwith
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Birtles
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fox
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gee
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Painter
authors.forename: Martyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Regan
authors.forename: Qutub
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bolton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001483:Base Sequence; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D012621:Seasons