DNA Fingerprinting of Tuberculosis Strains in Uganda
Author Information
Author(s): Asiimwe Benon B, Joloba Moses L, Ghebremichael Solomon, Koivula Tuija, Kateete David P, Katabazi Fred A, Pennhag Alexander, Petersson Ramona, Kallenius Gunilla
Primary Institution: Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet
Hypothesis
Is there a relationship between the risk of belonging to a group of tuberculosis patients with identical mycobacterial DNA fingerprint patterns and the HIV sero-status of the individuals?
Conclusion
The study found a high prevalence of recent tuberculosis transmission, but no association between clustering and demographic or clinical characteristics, including HIV status.
Supporting Evidence
- 118 different fingerprint patterns were obtained from the 183 isolates.
- 34 clusters contained 54% of the patients.
- 96.2% of the strains had a high copy number of the IS6110 element.
- Clustering rates were similar between HIV seropositive and seronegative patients.
- Only 2.7% of isolates were resistant to both rifampicin and isoniazid.
Takeaway
Researchers looked at tuberculosis strains in Uganda to see if people with the same strain were more likely to be HIV positive or negative. They found many similar strains but no link to HIV status.
Methodology
The study fingerprinted 183 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from patients using IS6110-RFLP analysis.
Limitations
The study included only a subset of patients diagnosed over a nine-month period, limiting the sensitivity for detecting clusters.
Participant Demographics
The sample included 80 HIV seropositive and 103 HIV seronegative patients, with 44.3% female and 55.7% male.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.615
Confidence Interval
95%CI 0.46–1.56
Statistical Significance
p=0.615
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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