[Molecular-genetic approaches to diagnosis and intraspecific typing of causative agents of glanders and melioidosis].

Pathogenic Burkholderia--Burkholderia mallei and Burkholderia pseudomallei--are causative agents of glanders and melioidosis, severe infectious diseases of man and animals. They are regarded as potential agents of bioterrorism. The existing bacteriological and immunological methods of identification of B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are not efficient enough for the rapid diagnosis and typing of strains. Described in the paper are molecular methods of detection of the agents by PCR, hybridization and strain typing made on the basis of bacterial total cell protein profiles, RAPD, ribotyping as well as of plasmid and DNA microrestriction analyses.