Epidemiological studies of Bacteroides spp. have been hindered because a suitable typing method is not available. In preliminary studies, 50 strains of Bacteroides were screened against each other for bacteriocin production and sensitivity; 54% of them produced bacteriocin(s) and more than 90% were sensitive to at least one bacteriocin. After calculation of similarity values for these 50 isolates, a typing set of six bacteriocinogenic strains was selected for a typing method based on bacteriocin sensitivity. With this typing set c. 90% of strains could be typed and tests of reproducibility suggested that acceptable accuracy and discrimination could be obtained without applying any one-reaction or two-reaction difference rules. Isolates from four hospitals gave a similar spectrum of typing patterns with 18 bacteriocin types being demonstrated. There was no correlation between bacteriocin type and species of Bacteroides. Repeat isolates from the same patient gave identical typing patterns.
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