title: Identification of Streptococcus agalactiae by fluorescent in situ hybridization compared to culturing and the determination of prevalence of Streptococcus agalactiae colonization among pregnant women in Bushehr, Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pregnant women colonized by Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococci [GBS]) may transfer this microorganism to their newborns. S. agalactiae is an important cause of pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in newborns. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) is considered as a method of identification in the field of diagnostic microbiology. In this paper, we have designed a study to compare the DNA FISH after 7 h Lim broth enrichment and culturing for the identification of S. agalactiae and to determine the prevalence of vaginal colonization by S. agalactiae among pregnant women in Bushehr, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vaginal swab specimens were obtained from 285 pregnant women at 35 weeks or more than 35 weeks of gestation. The specimens were inoculated into Lim broth. In order to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of GBS DNA FISH after 7 h Lim broth enrichment, the specimens were tested using both FISH and conventional culture methods. In addition, the prevalence of GBS colonization was determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the results of this study, both the sensitivity and specificity of FISH were 100%. S. agalactiae was detected by both culture and FISH in 27 of the 285 pregnant women. Thus, the prevalence of GBS colonization was 9.5%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Since short-term (7 h) Lim broth enrichment followed by FISH using oligonucleotide probes showed a high sensitivity and specificity, this protocol is therefore a highly accurate and relatively rapid method for the detection of S. agalactiae. Our analysis suggests that the use of DNA FISH to screen for S. agalactiae colonization in pregnant women may be considered in the absence of GBS culture availability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Moallem Street, P, O, Box 3631, Bushehr, Iran. tajbakhshsaeed@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tajbakhsh
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Norouzi Esfahani
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emaneini
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Motamed
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rahmani
authors.forename: Somayyeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gharibi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology