Evaluation of 16SpathDB 2.0, an automated 16S rRNA gene sequence database, using 689 complete bacterial genomes.

Interpretation of 16S rRNA sequences is a difficult problem faced by clinical microbiologists and technicians. In this study, we evaluated the updated 16SpathDB 2.0 database, using 689 16S rRNA sequences from 689 complete genomes of medically important bacteria.

Molecular characterization of the 2011 Hong Kong scarlet fever outbreak.

A scarlet fever outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in 2011. The majority of cases resulted in the isolation of Streptococcus pyogenes emm12 with multiple antibiotic resistances. Phylogenetic analysis of 22 emm12 scarlet fever outbreak isolates, 7 temporally and geographically matched emm12 non-scarlet fever isolates, and 18 emm12 strains isolated during 2005-2010 indicated the outbreak was multiclonal.