Plasmids in group JK coryneform bacteria isolated in a single hospital

Investigation of 39 JK-type coryneform isolates from patients at a single hospital revealed that 23 possessed plasmids, which formed six groups on restriction endonuclease analysis. Four of the groups were associated with production of similar bacteriocin-like substances, and shared a minimum of 6.4 kilobase pairs of DNA. These plasmids, found in isolates from different patients, provide strong direct evidence that person-to-person transmission of JK bacteria had occurred within the hospital.