[The genetic typing of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains by the polymerase chain reaction with universal primers]

The use of polymerase chain reaction (UP-PCR with universal primers for the genetic typing of 85 C. diphtheriae strains, isolated from patients and carriers at the period of the epidemic, has shown that a single natural clone of biovar gravis seems to prevail in North Western Russia. UP-PCR is an effective too for the rapid intraspecific typing of strains on the molecular-genetic level and for the study of the circulation of C.diphtheriae epidemic clones.