Genotyping of Human Brucella melitensis Biovar 3 Isolated from Shanxi Province in China by MLVA16 and HOOF

Background Brucellosis presents a significant economic burden for China because it causes reproductive failure in host species and chronic health problems in humans. These problems can involve multiple organs. Brucellosis is highly endemic in Shanxi Province China. Molecular typing would be very useful to epidemiological surveillance. The purpose of this study was to assess the diversity of Brucella melitensis strains for epidemiological surveillance. Historical monitoring data suggest that Brucella melitensis biovar 3 is the predominant strain associated with the epidemic of brucellosis in Shanxi Province. Methods/Principal Findings Multiple-locus variable-number repeat analysis (MLVA-16) and hypervariable octameric oligonucleotide fingerprinting (HOOF-print) were used to type a human-hosted Brucella melitensis population (81 strains). Sixty-two MLVA genotypes (discriminatory index: 0.99) were detected, and they had a genetic similarity coefficient ranging from 84.9% to 100%. Eighty strains of the population belonged to the eastern Mediterranean group with panel 1 genotypes 42 (79 strains) and 43 (1 strain). A new panel 1 genotype was found in this study. It was named 114 MLVAorsay genotype and it showed similarity to the two isolates from Guangdong in a previous study. Brucella melitensis is distributed throughout Shanxi Province, and like samples from Inner Mongolia, the eastern Mediterranean genotype 42 was the main epidemic strain (97%). The HOOF-printing showed a higher diversity than MLVA-16 with a genetic similarity coefficient ranging from 56.8% to 100%. Conclusions According to the MLVA-16 and HOOF-printing results, both methods could be used for the epidemiological surveillance of brucellosis. A new genotype was found in both Shanxi and Guangdong Provinces. In areas with brucellosis, the MLVA-16 scheme is very important for tracing cases back to their origins during outbreak investigations. It may facilitate the expansion and eradication of the disease.