Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis performed at the National Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory includes genotyping of all Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) isolates in Israel. The methods used are: 43 spacers spoligotyping and 24 loci Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units -Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MIRU-VNTR) typing.
Based on spoligotyping analysis of all new M. tb isolates in Israel from 2010 to 2012, approximately 5% showed an identical new-for-Israel spoligotyping profile. This profile known as the spoligotyping family T3_ETH (SIT 149), is predominant in Ethiopia and found also in Eritrea and Sudan.
In Israel, it is a new family found only sporadically before 2010 with increasing number of cases since then, originating predominantly from Ethiopia and Eritrea. Further molecular analysis using MIRU-VNTR divided this family into three groups with minute differences in their patterns. These groups also differed by demographic characteristics and anti-tuberculosis drug susceptibility. The emergence of drug resistant and multi drug resistant (MDR) M. tb strains originating from Africa is a new event which calls for special attention and concern.
