A method for specific identification of mycobacteria by using the polymerase chain reaction on organisms taken from liquid cultures, frozen suspensions, or colonies grown on Lowenstein-Jensen slants is presented. This direct detection of mycobacterial organisms has important implications for strain typing and diagnosis

Fries, J W

Patel, R J

Piessens, W F

Wirth, D F

PubMed

A method for specific identification of mycobacteria by using the polymerase chain reaction on organisms taken from liquid cultures, frozen suspensions, or colonies grown on Lowenstein-Jensen slants is presented. This direct detection of mycobacterial organisms has important implications for strain typing and diagnosis. Besides Mycobacterium tutberclulosis, Mycobacterium avium is the most frequently encountered opportunistic mycobacterial pathogen in immunocompromised patients (10, 15, 25). While the overall incidence of tuberculosis in the United States is decreasing, individuals suffering from AIDS are becoming reservoirs for both M. aviium and M. tubercui-losis infections in increasing numbers. The differential diag-nosis of these pathogens is essential. Although successful treatment of tuberculosis is possible even for patients with AIDS, treatment for M. avium infections is usually disap-pointing (15, 25). Specific and rapid detection of M. aviuim, directly from body fluids or after initial isolation, would hel

Jochen W. U. Fries

T Rubina J. Patel

Willy F. Piessens

Dyann F. Wirth

CiteSeerX

Detection of untreated mycobacteria by using polymerase chain reaction and specific DNA probes

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=270197

Detection of untreated mycobacteria by using polymerase chain reaction and specific DNA probes.

Detection of untreated mycobacteria by using polymerase chain reaction and specific DNA probes.

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