title: Prevalence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain genotypes in Taiwan reveals a close link to ethnic and population migration.
abstract: Taiwan is a relatively isolated island, serving as a mixing vessel for colonization by different waves of ethnic and migratory groups over the past 4 centuries. The potential transmission pattern of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in different ethnic and migratory populations remains to be elucidated. By using mycobacterial tandem repeat sequences as genetic markers, the prevalence of M. tuberculosis strains in Taiwan revealed a close link to the historical migration. Interestingly, the M. tuberculosis strain in the aborigines of Eastern and Central Taiwan had a dominance of the Haarlem (Dutch) strain while those in Southern Taiwan had a dominance of the East-African Indian (EAI) strain. The prevalence of different M. tuberculosis strains in specific ethnic populations suggests that M. tuberculosis transmission is limited and restricted to close contact. The prevalence of the Beijing modern strain in the young population causes a concern for M. tuberculosis control, because of high virulence and drug resistance. Furthermore, our data using molecular genotyping should provide valuable information on the historical study of the origin and migration of aborigines in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Number 35, Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Horng-Yunn
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Dou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Number 35, Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yih-Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Number 35, Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Chen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Number 35, Keyan Road, Zhunan Town, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan; Department of Pathology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan 704, Taiwan. Electronic address: suihjen@nhri.org.tw.
authors.forename: Ih-Jen
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Su
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000235:genetics*; D013624:Taiwan / Q000208:ethnology; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Austronesian; M. tuberculosis genotyping; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Taiwan; ethnic and migratory population