Mycobacteria Interspersed Repetitive Units-Variable Number of Tandem Repeat, Spoligotyping and Drug Resistance of Isolates from Pulmonary Tuberculosois Patients in Kenya

Abstract

Background: Molecular typing allows a rapid and precise species differentia-tion and is essential in investigating the spread of specific genotypes and any relationship with drug resistance. Methodology: To compare the discrimina-tion power of 24-loci Mycobacteria interspersed repetitive units-variable num-ber of tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) to spoligotyping in determining the cir-culating genotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in isolates from pulmonary