Book excerpt: Molecular Typing in Bacterial Infections covers common bacterial pathogenic agents, with the most effective methods for their identification and classification in the light of their specific epidemiology. The book will be a valuable resource for molecular typing of infectious diseases agents encountered in both the research and hospital clinical lab settings, as well as culture collections. Each chapter provides an overview of molecular approaches to typing bacterial pathogens. Part I gives a general overview of typing methods used in the traditional microbiology laboratory in comparison to molecular methods of epidemiology. In Part II, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different methods applicable to the specific agents of infectious diseases are emphasized. Specific emphasis is placed on recent changes and updates in molecular typing.