ABSTRACT
Determining whether two or more isolates of the same species represent the same strain is often needed to understand and control the spread of disease in both hospitals and communities [1]. Typical problems include investigating a putative outbreak of a nosocomial pathogen, such as methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), or establishing whether the isolation of a common pathogen such as
Campylobacter jejuni
from two successive episodes of enteritis in a single patient represents a relapse or a reinfection [2].
