The mean distance between the two farms in Sarthe department and the hatchery in Maine-et-Loire was 120 km. To confirm the geographic clustering and evaluate the minimum size AMN-107 cost of geographic clusters, additional samples from other

origins should be included. We should also collect environmental isolates near the poultry farms in Sarthe department or Guangxi province and avian isolates near the hatchery in Maine-et-Loire department. Geographic clustering of A. fumigatus isolates using repeat sequence analysis with the CSP method, was suggested by Balajee in 2007 [29]. Recently, another study using the AFLP method showed a geographic structuration of A. fumigatus isolates [32]. Conclusions The present study allowed to describe Histone Acetyltransferase inhibitor 10 VNTR markers, applicable in the typing of the major fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. The loci in this VNTR assay were highly discriminating and stable over time. The typing method could be used for molecular epidemiological studies of A. fumigatus in different situations including avian farms and hospitals where outbreaks of invasive aspergillosis may occur. Furthermore, data obtained by the present method could be easily shared in a web database Acknowledgements ST is a PhD student supported by the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire (ANSES). DW has received a grant from

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