Comparison of multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis and multilocus sequence typing for differentiation of hemolytic-uremic syndrome-associated Escherichia coli (HUSEC) collection strains.

Multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) was compared to multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to differentiate hemolytic uremic syndrome-associated enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strains. Although MLVA--like MLST--was highly discriminatory (index of diversity, 0.988 versus 0.984), a low level of concordance demonstrated the limited ability of MLVA to reflect long-term evolutionary events.