Characterisation of predominant molecular patterns of Burkholderia pseudomallei in Taiwan.
BACKGROUND
The soil-dwelling pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei is the cause of melioidosis. In this study, the geographical and temporal distributions of predominant molecular patterns occurring in clinical and environmental isolates of B. pseudomallei were characterised.


METHODS
A collection of 194 human and 59 soil B. pseudomallei isolates obtained in Taiwan were analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST).


RESULTS
Five predominant PFGE types (VI, X, XI, XV and XVI) among human isolates were identified between 2004 and 2010. Among them, types VI, X and XI correspond to ST58, and types XV and XVI correspond to ST99. The distribution of B. pseudomallei with distinct PFGE or MLST types was clustered in different towns in southern Taiwan. Clusters of B. pseudomallei have successively appeared in the town of Jiading, which is located in the Er-Ren River Basin of southern Taiwan.


CONCLUSIONS
Burkholderia pseudomallei isolates were geographically and temporally clustered in Taiwan. This finding supports the contention that the Er-Ren River Basin now constitutes the highest risk area for melioidosis in Taiwan.
Department of Biotechnology, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Ya-Lei
YL
Chen
Ying-Chun
YC
Lin
Yao-Shen
YS
Chen
Ssu-Ching
SC
Chen
Yu-Mei
YM
Liu
I-Ling
IL
Tseng
Chuen-Sheue
CS
Chiang
Hsi-Hsun
HH
Lin
Jung-Jung
JJ
Mu
D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D016957:Burkholderia pseudomallei / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D008554:Melioidosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology