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Molecular subtyping of Treponema pallidum from North and
South Carolina.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology 2005;43(8):3743-3746.
Pope V, Fox K, Liu H, Marfin AA, Leone P, Seña AC, Chapin J, Fears
MB, Markowitz L.
Abstract
Patients from five clinics in North and South Carolina who had lesions suggestive
of primary or secondary syphilis were evaluated using molecular techniques
that allow the differentiation of Treponema pallidum strains on the basis
of two variable genes, tpr and arp. Lesion samples were screened for the
presence of T. pallidum DNA using PCR for polA, which represents a segment
of the polymerase I gene that is unique to the spirochete. Twenty-seven of
154 lesion samples were found to contain T. pallidum, 23 of which had typeable
DNA. Seven molecular subtypes were found (10f, 12f, 13f, 14f, 14g, 15f, and
16f); one to four subtypes were identified at each clinic. Subtype 14f was
found in 52% of the typeable specimens and was distributed in four of the
five clinics. Subtype 16f was found in 22% of specimens and was concentrated
at one clinic. Further data are needed to define the role of this technique
in examining the epidemiology of syphilis.