Molecular epidemiology of group JK Corynebacterium on a cancer ward: lack of evidence for patient-to-patient transmission.

Plasmid profiles of 27 clinical isolates of group JK Corynebacterium, mostly from one cancer ward, revealed that only two strains harbored a 20-kilobase plasmid. These plasmid-bearing isolates had the same antimicrobial resistance pattern as non-plasmid-containing isolates: All were resistant to penicillin G, methicillin, cephalothin, clindamycin, and gentamicin. Restriction endonuclease analysis of chromosomal DNA was done on 18 clinical isolates of group JK Corynebacterium. Identical restriction patterns were seen when multiple isolates were from the same patient over several months of apparent colonization; in contrast, restriction patterns of isolates from patients from two clusters were all heterogeneous and suggested that patient-to-patient transmission of group JK Corynebacterium did not occur. Restriction endonuclease analysis of chromosomal DNA, but not plasmid profiling, appears to be a very sensitive typing tool for group JK Corynebacterium.