Microsatellite typing to trace Aspergillus flavus infections in a hematology unit.
Assessing the relatedness of strains isolated from patients and their environment is instrumental in documenting the source of preventable health care-associated life-threatening Aspergillus flavus human infection clusters. The present study aimed at identifying and selecting suitable microsatellite markers for A. flavus typing. This typing scheme was then applied to investigate the A. flavus epidemiology within a hematology unit in Sfax, Tunisia. Use of a combination of five markers made it possible to discern clusters of isolates and to substantiate the genetic diversity of A. flavus within clusters. Isolates from Tunisia and Marseille, France, displayed distinct haplotypes, indicating a highly significant geographical structuring of A. flavus. The typing of clinical and environmental A. flavus isolates in a hematology unit provided insights into its hospital epidemiology. From a heterogeneous genetic background, a cluster indicative of a clonal propagation episode within the unit could be identified. In two patients with invasive aspergillosis, the same genotype was found in clinical and environmental isolates, indicating hospital-acquired colonization and infection. In further studies, this novel microsatellite typing scheme might be instrumental in illuminating important epidemiological issues about A. flavus population genetics or epidemiology, including tracing the sources and routes of transmission.
Hadrich
Inès
I
Laboratoire de Biologie Moléculaire Parasitaire et Fongique, Faculté de Médecine de Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
Makni
Fattouma
F
Ayadi
Ali
A
Ranque
Stéphane
S
D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D001231:Aspergillus flavus / Q000235:genetics*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006757:Hospital Units; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
J Hosp Infect. 2004 Jun;57(2):149-55
15183246
Mycoses. 2010 Sep;53(5):443-7
19500260
Mycoses. 2009 May;52(3):206-22
19207851
J Microbiol Methods. 2008 Jun;73(3):252-6
18375005
J Hosp Infect. 2007 Sep;67(1):35-41
17719681
Evol Bioinform Online. 2007 Feb 23;1:47-50
19325852
Med Mycol. 2005 Jun;43(4):365-71
16110783
Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Aug;56(8):2453-61
1976300
J Microbiol Methods. 2007 Sep;70(3):528-34
17692974
Stud Mycol. 2007;58:219-34
18491001
J Clin Microbiol. 1988 Nov;26(11):2465-6
3069867
Med Mycol. 2009;47 Suppl 1:S27-33
19255901
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2009 Feb;15(2):180-7
19154486
Res Microbiol. 1999 Nov-Dec;150(9-10):617-26
10673001
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Mar 17;95(6):3140-5
9501229
J Clin Microbiol. 2000 Oct;38(10):3612-8
11015372
J Clin Microbiol. 2007 Nov;45(11):3647-54
17881546
Infect Immun. 1997 Aug;65(8):3080-5
9234757
J Microbiol Methods. 2007 May;69(2):268-72
17328980
Mol Ecol. 2000 Dec;9(12):2170-2
11123637
J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Jun;36(6):1494-500
9620367
J Clin Microbiol. 2007 May;45(5):1469-77
17376886
Mycoses. 2001 May;44(3-4):65-72
11413925