A NOVEL APPROACH TO GENOTYPING OF HOSPITAL ISOLATES OF CLOSTRIDIUM DIFFICILE

Aim. Development of a novel approach in genotyping of Clostridium difficile and its testing on the example of 140 hospital isolates. Materials and methods. The approach is based on an idea of double digest and selective label (DDSL), used previously during genotyping of other bacterial pathogens. Selection of optimal enzymes for restriction of MluI and Mph1103I was carried out, condition of DDSL reaction execution were optimized. Results. Genotyping of C. difficile hospital isolates was carried out, index of strain discrimination was calculated, conclusions regarding possibilities of the method in elucidation of spread pathways and identification of infection sources were made. Conclusion. The developed method of genotyping has a number of advantages over the existing method and can be used to address issues in epidemiology of infections caused by C. difficile