PROMISING APPROACHES TO THE DIAGNOSTICS OF NOSOCOMIAL INFECTION ON THE BASIS OF MODERN CONCEPTIONS OF MOLECULAR AND GENETIC MECHANISMS OF HOSPITAL STRAINS FORMATION
Modern methods of typing pathogens of nosocomial infections are considered. It is shown, that alongside with classical methods (studying restriction fragment length polymorphism of chromosomal and plasmid DNA, Southern-blotting, pulse-electrophoresis), the ones based upon polymerase chain reaction, are used as well. The advantages and disadvantages of plasmid analysis in identification of nosocomial infection pathogens are considered. The approaches to studying pathogen cultures in various physiologic states are described, the criteria of choosing methods of studying pathogens are assessed; the efficiency, repeatability, resolving power, possibility of results interpretation, reagents and equipment cost are assessed as well. It is concluded, that the application of methods with high resolving power can significantly enhance our understanding of nosocomial infections, in particular the presence of many different cultures of one kind in patient care institutions. Laboratory evaluation of isolates is a practical epidemiological tool for monitoring, in which the leading role belongs to the microbiology laboratory.