Flagellin subunit A gene (flaA) typing of Campylobacter has been
recognized by several groups as a relatively simple and quick genotyping
method. The present study aimed to create, for the first time in Greece,
a database with flaA restriction patterns, which could be used for
future epidemiological and clinical studies. A total of 207 C. jejuni
clinical isolates of known serotype were collected from 5 general
hospitals of the area of Attica, during the period 2000-2003.
The RFLP profiles of each strain were matched in 44 bins of 0 or 1.
Thirty nine different flaA types, designated as flaA 1 GR to flaA 39 GR
(GR: Greece) were found. There was no significant association of certain
genotypes with certain serotypes. However flaA typing showed a
remarkable discriminatory ability inside the non-typable (NT) group.
Evaluating our results we observed (i) that there was no clonality of a
certain flaA type among the strains and the serotypes examined and (ii)
that the discriminatory ability of flaA typing was much better than that
of serotyping. Giving a simple and detailed description of the data
analysis, we are the first who publish the bin patterns for the flaA
genotypes found
