title: Molecular Diversity ofMycobacterium tuberculosisStrains in Northwestern Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Years after the development of antituberculosis (TB) drugs, many people continue to suffer from this disease. To control the spread of TB, strains of theMycobacterium tuberculosiscomplex need to be determined, and sources of infection must be identified. Such steps should help to prevent transmission of the infection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to perform molecular genotyping of isolates of theM. tuberculosiscomplex obtained from patients in northwestern Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred ninety-four culture-positiveM. tuberculosisisolates obtained from patients in northwestern Iran were analyzed using the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-exact tandem repeats (MIRU-ETR) method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MIRU-ETR method distinguished 162 different patterns in the 194 isolates, comprising 23 clusters and 139 unique patterns. Its discriminatory power according to the Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index (HGDI) was 0.9978. The largest cluster contained six isolates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research indicated that various strains ofM. tuberculosiswere responsible for TB and that the majority of cases were due to reactivation.
authors: Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Mahya
authors: M
authors: Pourostadi
authors: Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Research Center, Faculty of Paramedicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Jalil
authors: J
authors: Rashedi
authors: Department of Laboratory Science, Faculty of Paramedicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran; Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR Iran.
authors: Behroz
authors: B
authors: Mahdavi Poor
authors: Drug Applied Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Samadi Kafil
authors: Faculty of Paramedicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Samaneh
authors: S
authors: Shirazi
authors: Hematology-Oncology Research Center, Faculty of Paramedicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, IR Iran.
authors: Mohammad
authors: M
authors: Asgharzadeh
keywords: ETR; Iran; Molecular Diversity; Tuberculosis