title: Development of a Multilocus Sequence Typing System for Medically Relevant Bipolaris Species.
abstract: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is the gold standard genotyping technique for many microorganisms. This classification approach satisfies the requirements for a high-resolution, standardized, and archivable taxonomic system. Here, we describe the development of a novel MLST system to assist with the investigation of an unusual cluster of surgical site infections caused by Bipolaris spp. in postoperative cardiothoracic surgery (POCS) patients during January 2008 to December 2013 in the southeastern United States. We also used the same MLST system to perform a retrospective analysis on isolates from a 2012 Bipolaris endophthalmitis outbreak caused by a contaminated product. This MLST system showed high intraspecies discriminatory power for Bipolaris spicifera, B. hawaiiensis, and B. australiensis. Based on the relatedness of the isolates, the MLST data supported the hypothesis that infections in the POCS cluster were from different environmental sources while confirming that the endophthalmitis outbreak resulted from a point source, which was a contaminated medication.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Cau D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Purfield
authors.affiliation: Scott and White Hospital, Temple, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fader
authors.affiliation: Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pascoe
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA gyi2@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Shawn R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lockhart
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D009877:Endophthalmitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology / Q000379:methods; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing / Q000379:methods*; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology