Analysis of  Proteus mirabilis  isolates from two cases of food poisoning using pulsed field gel electrophoresis

Objective　The study was conducted to identify the cause of food poisoning on July 19 and 22, 2007, by analyzing the Proteus mirabilis isolates. Methods　Samples from patients and food were collected for conventional isolation and culture. The isolates were typed using PFGE. Results　A total of 14 isolates of Proteus mirabilis were found from 51 samples collected from food poisoning cases in Dingan county, Hainan province, and 3 isolates from 5 samples in Chengmai county. As a result, 8 subtypes were detected through PFGE cluster analysis, with the similarity of 28.1%-100.0%. Nine out of 14 isolates from Dingan county presented with the same subtypes, and 2 isolates from Chengmai county were of the same subtypes. Conclusion　The cause of food poisoning was identified as the particular subtype of Proteus mirabilis isolates.