[Distribution of bacteriophage types of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in France]

The bacteriophage typing of M. tuberculosis enables separation of the strains of the species according to their sensitivity to certain bacteriophages. A relationship has been observed between the geographical origin of patients and the distribution of the phage types of their strains. This study related to a sample of 450 strains isolated between 1978 and 1987 in patients of French origin coming from different regions in France. An analysis of the data provided by the study indicates that the distribution of the 5 phage types, A, AX, I, B, and C is relatively homogenous in the different regions with a predominance of the phage type A and B. The mean percentage of the lysotypes A, AX, I, B and C in the country as a whole are 43%, 15%, 7%, 30% and 5% respectively. Only in region 3 (Haute and Basse Normandie), 8 (Provence-Côte-d'Azur) and 9 (Rhône-Alpes) is there any perceptible deviation from this distribution. This study also underlines the contribution that can be provided by this type of information in the epidemiology of tuberculosis.