title: Molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in aboriginal peoples of Taiwan, 2006-2011.
abstract: Previous research revealed a 6-fold higher incidence of tuberculosis (TB) amongst aborigines compared to Han Chinese in Taiwan. To investigate the reasons for this disparity, we genotyped Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains obtained from members of different aboriginal tribes in different geographical regions of Taiwan by using molecular methods. In total, 177 isolates of MTB collected from patients at four hospitals in Taiwan from January 2006 to December 2011 were analysed by spoligotyping, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem-repeat (MIRU-VNTR) typing. The most prevalent strains in the eastern and central regions of Taiwan were Beijing (45.7% in eastern) and Haarlem (39.1% in eastern, 37.1% in central) lineages, whereas in southern regions the most prevalent strains were EAI (47.7%) and Haarlem (20.5%) lineages. The high prevalence of EAI in southern Taiwan aborigines may be closely associated with Austronesian culture. This study provides a first overview of the M. tuberculosis strains circulating in aboriginal populations in Taiwan. The high prevalences of certain MTB lineages within aboriginal sub-populations suggest that transmission of MTB may have been restricted to close contacts.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yih-Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jia-Ru
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Chen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.affiliation: Ditmanson Medical Foundation Chia-Yi Christian Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan; China Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Taian, Taiwan; Meiho University, Pingtung, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, Pingtung Christian Hospital, Pingtung, Taiwan; Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jun-Jun
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jen-Jyh
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Pau-Le Christian Hospital, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chang-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jun-Ren
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Pathology, Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital and National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tzong-Shi
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Chiueh
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan. Electronic address: suihjen@nhri.org.tw.
authors.forename: Ih-Jen
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan. Electronic address: hydou@nhri.org.tw.
authors.forename: Horng-Yunn
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Dou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D058889:Molecular Typing; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aborigines; EAI strain; Haarlem strain; Multiple-drug resistant; Mycobacterium tuberculosis