ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To establish RAPD typing method for Enterobacter aerogenes,and apply RAPD to study molecular epidemiology of E.aerogenes in a neonatal unit.METHODS Five E.aerogenes strains were isolated from four patients in the same neonatal unit at the same time.These strains were typed by RAPD technique.Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by MIC to evaluate drug-resistance.RESULTS Two strains belonging to a unique RAPD-typed ones were epidemiologically related strains.These strains isolated from two patients who hospitalized in the same neonatal unit for four and ten days,respectively.Five E.aerogenes strains were resistant to aminoglycosides,piperacillin and the third-generation cephalosporins in varying degree.CONCLUSIONS RAPD technique is a very easy and reliable molecular tool in the study of E.aerogenes epidemiology.Antibiotic resistance of E.aerogenes is probably related with the history of using antibiotics.
