Strain Typing Methods and Molecular Epidemiology of Pneumocystis Pneumonia

摘要

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) caused by the oppor-tunistic fungal agent Pneumocystis jirovecii (formerlyP. carinii) continues to cause illness and death in HIV-infected patients. In the absence of a culture system to iso-late and maintain live organisms, efforts to type andcharacterize the organism have relied on polymerase chainreaction–based approaches. Studies using these methodshave improved understanding of PCP epidemiology, shed-ding light on sources of infection, transmission patterns,and potential emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Oneconcern, however, is the lack of guidance regarding theappropriateness of different methods and standardizationof these methods, which would facilitate comparing resultsreported by different laboratories