This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Singh, A.
Right arrow Articles by Zervos, M. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Singh, A.
Right arrow Articles by Zervos, M. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, July 2006, p. 512-530, Vol. 19, No. 3
0893-8512/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00025-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Application of Molecular Techniques to the Study of Hospital Infection

Aparajita Singh,1,2* Richard V. Goering,3 Shabbir Simjee,4 Steven L. Foley,5 and Marcus J. Zervos1,2

Department of Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Michigan,1 Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan,2 Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska,3 Division of Animal and Food Microbiology, Office of Research, Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland,4 Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, Wisconsin5

Nosocomial infections are an important source of morbidity and mortality in hospital settings, afflicting an estimated 2 million patients in United States each year. This number represents up to 5% of hospitalized patients and results in an estimated 88,000 deaths and 4.5 billion dollars in excess health care costs. Increasingly, hospital-acquired infections with multidrug-resistant pathogens represent a major problem in patients. Understanding pathogen relatedness is essential for determining the epidemiology of nosocomial infections and aiding in the design of rational pathogen control methods. The role of pathogen typing is to determine whether epidemiologically related isolates are also genetically related. To determine molecular relatedness of isolates for epidemiologic investigation, new technologies based on DNA, or molecular analysis, are methods of choice. These DNA-based molecular methodologies include pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), PCR-based typing methods, and multilocus sequence analysis. Establishing clonality of pathogens can aid in the identification of the source (environmental or personnel) of organisms, distinguish infectious from noninfectious strains, and distinguish relapse from reinfection. The integration of molecular typing with conventional hospital epidemiologic surveillance has been proven to be cost-effective due to the associated reduction in the number of nosocomial infections. Cost-effectiveness is maximized through the collaboration of the laboratory, through epidemiologic typing, and the infection control department during epidemiologic investigations.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Infectious Diseases, Henry Ford Hospital, West Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202. Phone: (313) 916-2573. Fax: (313) 916-2993. E-mail: mzervos1{at}hfhs.org.

Clinical Microbiology Reviews, July 2006, p. 512-530, Vol. 19, No. 3
0893-8512/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CMR.00025-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Lim, K. T., Yeo, C. C., Md Yasin, R., Balan, G., Thong, K. L. (2009). Characterization of multidrug-resistant and extended-spectrum {beta}-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains from Malaysian hospitals. J Med Microbiol 58: 1463-1469 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sergi, S., Donnarumma, F., Mastromei, G., Goti, E., Nicoletti, P., Pecile, P., Cecconi, D., Mannino, R., Fanci, R., Bosi, A., Bartolozzi, B., Casalone, E. (2009). Molecular Surveillance and Population Structure Analysis of Methicillin-Susceptible and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in High-Risk Wards. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 3246-3254 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Zelazny, A. M., Root, J. M., Shea, Y. R., Colombo, R. E., Shamputa, I. C., Stock, F., Conlan, S., McNulty, S., Brown-Elliott, B. A., Wallace, R. J. Jr., Olivier, K. N., Holland, S. M., Sampaio, E. P. (2009). Cohort Study of Molecular Identification and Typing of Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium massiliense, and Mycobacterium bolletii. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 1985-1995 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chua, T., Moore, C. L., Perri, M. B., Donabedian, S. M., Masch, W., Vager, D., Davis, S. L., Lulek, K., Zimnicki, B., Zervos, M. J. (2008). Molecular Epidemiology of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bloodstream Isolates in Urban Detroit. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 2345-2352 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Strommenger, B., Braulke, C., Heuck, D., Schmidt, C., Pasemann, B., Nubel, U., Witte, W. (2008). spa Typing of Staphylococcus aureus as a Frontline Tool in Epidemiological Typing. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 574-581 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Fang, H., Ataker, F., Hedin, G., Dornbusch, K. (2008). Molecular Epidemiology of Extended-Spectrum {beta}-Lactamases among Escherichia coli Isolates Collected in a Swedish Hospital and Its Associated Health Care Facilities from 2001 to 2006. J. Clin. Microbiol. 46: 707-712 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Davis, S. L., Perri, M. B., Donabedian, S. M., Manierski, C., Singh, A., Vager, D., Haque, N. Z., Speirs, K., Muder, R. R., Robinson-Dunn, B., Hayden, M. K., Zervos, M. J. (2007). Epidemiology and Outcomes of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 1705-1711 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»