Imported measles and implications for its elimination in Taiwan.

During November 2008-May 2009, an outbreak of 53 measles cases occurred in Taiwan. Of these, 3 cases were sporadic, and the other 50 cases could be grouped into 8 clusters by genetic analysis. We determined 7 H1 genotypes linked to importation and 1 G3 genotype linked to an untraceable source.

Molecular epidemiology and emergence of worldwide epidemic clones of Neisseria meningitidis in Taiwan.

Background: Meningococcal disease is infrequently found in Taiwan, a country with 23 million people. Between 1996 and 2002, 17 to 81 clinical cases of the disease were reported annually. Reported cases dramatically increased in 2001-2002.

A simple and low-cost paper-bridged method for Salmonella phase reversal.

We have developed a simple, rapid, and low-cost "paper-bridged" method for Salmonella phase reversal. More than 3500 isolates were tested in our laboratory, and the results indicated that this paper-bridged method is a useful alternative for phase reversal.

Epidemiology and molecular characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes recovered from scarlet fever patients in central Taiwan from 1996 to 1999.

One hundred seventy-nine Streptococcus pyogenes isolates recovered from scarlet fever patients from 1996 to 1999 in central Taiwan were characterized by emm, Vir, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing methods. The protocols for Vir and PFGE typing were standardized. A database of the DNA fingerprints for the isolates was established.