Table 1. Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain type clusters involving Eritrea-born patients and associated cluster members born elsewhere, Birmingham, UK, 2004–2013*.
| Cluster designation (24-loci MIRU-VNTR)† | No. patients in cluster | No. patients born in Eritrea | No. patients born elsewhere (not Eritrea), country‡ | No. patients epidemiologically linked to >1 other patient in cluster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A (32433 2242515321 233323462) | 12 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| B (32433 2512511322 132443383) | 5 | 3 | 2, Yemen | 2 |
| C (32435 2332517333 455443382) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| D (32433 2512511322 131443373) | 5 | 4 | 1, Kenya | 0 |
| E (32432 2311514322 124523342) | 3 | 1 | 2, Lithuania and Pakistan | 2 |
| F (42235 2642515333 342423374) |
6 |
4 |
2, Pakistan |
2 |
| Unique 24-loci strains | NA | 18 | NA | NA |
| Only 15 loci available§ | NA | 15 | NA | NA |
| Culture negative |
NA |
28 |
NA |
NA |
| Total | 34 | 88 | 7 | 20 |
*MIRU-VNTR, mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units variable-number tandem-repeat; NA, not applicable. †24-loci MIRU-VNTR was available beginning in 2010. ‡All cases were in recent migrants (arriving in the past 5 y). No epidemiologic links between those from different countries were found except in cluster E. §15-loci MIRU-VNTR typing was available beginning in 2003.