Comparative study of three different DNA fingerprint techniques for molecular typing of Shigella flexneri strains isolated in Romania.

In this study, 97 epidemiologically unrelated Shigella flexneri strains isolated during 1994 (69 isolates) and 1997 (28 isolates) were characterised by ribotyping, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence-based PCR typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Number of strains belonging to each of the six serotypes is selected equal to their distribution in Romania. The isolates comprise 24 ribotypes based on combination of two restriction patterns obtained with HindlII and PstI, respectively, 7 enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)-PCR types, and 92 XbaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns grouped in 31 pulsotypes at Dice coefficients of 85% similarity.

Differentiation of Shigella strains by plasmid profile analysis, serotyping and phage typing.

Ninety-one Shigella flexneri and 29 Shigella sonnei strains isolated during 1994 from sporadic cases of shigellosis and healthy carriers were analyzed for plasmid profile in order to compare the discriminating ability of this method with that of serotyping and phage typing. Our study revealed 10 plasmid profiles (PP) among S. sonnei strains.

Serological identification of Shigella flexneri strains by the coagglutination reaction.

Several variants of reagents were prepared by coupling type (I, II III, IV, V and VI) and group (3, 4, 6 and 7, 8, 9) anti-Shigella flexneri sera with protein A--containing staphylococcal suspension. For most serum lots coagglutination led to a 1/10 minimum dilution. However, different efficiencies were reported between serum lots and even within the same type or group.

Study of strains agglutinable with enteroinvasive anti E. coli polyvalent sera isolated from ill and healthy subjects for optimizing the laboratory diagnosis of diarrhoea.

369 E. coli strains that are agglutinated in A or B anti E. coli enteroinvasive (EIEC) polyvalent sera and inducing no keratoconjunctivitis in the guinea pig's eye have been selected.

Congo red binding test in enteroinvasive and nonpathogenic Escherichia coli strains.

Out of 6 variants the appropriate media to perform Congo red binding test for enteroinvasive E. coli strains were established (trypto-soy agar Eiken, T.S.