Diverse Genotypes of XXXX Caused Plague in Madagascar in 2007.

@entity1 @entity12502 @entity66
BACKGROUND: @entity12502 is the causative agent of @entity1 plague and is endemic in various African, Asian and American countries. In @entity66 represents a significant public health problem with hundreds of @entity1 cases a year. Unfortunately, poor infrastructure makes outbreak investigations challenging. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: DNA was extracted directly from 93 clinical samples from @entity1 with a clinical diagnosis of plague in Madagascar in 2007. The extracted DNAs were then genotyped using three molecular genotyping methods, including, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing, multi-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA), and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) analysis. These methods provided increasing resolution, respectively. The results of these analyses revealed that, in 2007, ten molecular groups, two newly described here and eight previously identified, were responsible for causing @entity1 plague in geographically distinct areas of Madagascar. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Plague in Madagascar is caused by numerous distinct types of @entity12502 . Genotyping method choice should be based upon the discriminatory power needed, expense, and available data for any desired comparisons. We conclude that genotyping should be a standard tool used in epidemiological investigations of plague outbreaks.
