USING OF PLASMID SCANNING IN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION FOR SALMONELLA TYPHI BACTERIA IN POLLUTED WATER SUPPLY AND PATIENTS IN AL-SADER CITY

Abstract

A total of 452 water samples collected from Al-Sader city were examined from the 1st of January 2007 to the 1st of September 2007. The results revealed the contaminated of 169 (37.4%) samples with different types of pathogenic bacteria, 31 isolates were identified as Proteus mirabilis, 10Citobacter spp., 15Streptococcus spp., 94Escherichia coli, 15 non-vibrio cholerae 01 and 4 as Salmonella typhi. While 76 isolates of S. typhi were isolated from 2517 patients, depending on biochemical identification and Api system epidemiological markers of the samples were studied including biotyping, serotyping and plasmid profile for both source of isolates as epidemiological index. The results of plasmid profile confirmed the similarity in the plasmid bands arrangement in all S. typhi isolates from patients and water samples which indicate that infection was transmitted through water.