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Recognition of Yersinia enterocolitica multiple strain infection in twin infants using PCR-based DNA fingerprinting
J T Gray1, M WaKabongo, F E Campos
1USDA, ARS, Antimicrobial Resistance Research Unit, Athens, GA 30605, USA. jgray@saa.ars.usda.gov
Insights
This study investigated a Yersinia enterocolitica infection in twin infants, finding one infant had multiple strains. This highlights the importance of recognizing complex Yersinia enterocolitica infections.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Yersinia enterocolitica commonly causes enterocolitis in children, presenting with fever and diarrhea.
- Investigated a case of Yersinia enterocolitica infection in twin infants.
Observation:
- One infant yielded a single Yersinia enterocolitica isolate.
- The second infant yielded two distinct Yersinia enterocolitica isolates.
- DNA fingerprinting revealed two isolates were identical, while the third was distinct.
Findings:
- One infant was infected with multiple strains of Yersinia enterocolitica.
- Demonstrated that multiple Yersinia enterocolitica strains can colonize and invade a single host.
Implications:
- Identifying multiple Yersinia enterocolitica strains is crucial for accurate diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
- The DNA fingerprinting method provides a simple approach for bacterial strain comparison in clinical settings.
Aims:
Yersinia enterocolitica causes several syndromes in humans. The most common presentation is enterocolitis in children, presenting as fever and diarrhoea. A Y. enterocolitica multiple strain infection in twin infants was investigated.
Methods And Results:
One isolate was recovered from one patient and two morphologically-different isolates were recovered from the other infant. Biochemically, all isolates were identified as Y. enterocolitica group. The genomic DNA from each strain was purified and DNA fingerprinting was performed. The banding patterns observed for Y. enterocolitica isolates 2 and 3, from patients 1 and 2, respectively, were identical when comparing the presence or absence of major bands. However, Y. enterocolitica isolate 1, from patient 1, showed a distinctive banding pattern from isolates 2 and 3.
Conclusion:
The findings indicate that one infant was colonized by more than one strain of Y. enterocolitica, demonstrating that multiple strains can colonize and invade a patient.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Recognition of multiple strain infections can be important in diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Y. enterocolitica infections, as well as in disease epidemiology. The technique described here offers a straightforward method for strain comparison.
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