Prevalence and Characterization of Heterogeneous Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Clusters Comprising Drug-Susceptible and/or Variable Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Isolates in the Netherlands from 2004 to 2016

• Published in: Journal of clinical microbiology Vol. 56; no. 11
• Main Authors: Roof, Inge, Jajou, Rana, Kamst, Miranda, Mulder, Arnout, de Neeling, Albert, van Hunen, Rianne, van der Hoek, Wim, van Soolingen, Dick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.11.2018
• Subjects: Cluster Analysis; Diagnostic Tests, Routine; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; Drug Resistance, Bacterial - genetics; Epidemiology; Genetic Variation; Genome, Bacterial - genetics; Humans; Minisatellite Repeats - genetics; Molecular Typing; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - classification; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - genetics; Mycobacterium tuberculosis - isolation & purification; Netherlands - epidemiology; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics; Prevalence; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Tuberculosis - epidemiology; Tuberculosis - microbiology; Netherlands; WGS; antibiotic resistance; VNTR; tuberculosis

The variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR) typing method is used to study tuberculosis (TB) transmission. Clustering of isolates with identical VNTR patterns is assumed to reflect recent transmission. Hence, clusters are thought to be homogeneous regarding antibiotic resistance. In practice, however,...