Diagnosis of acute typhus infection using the polymerase chain reaction.
The first use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of an acute rickettsial infection is described. A primer pair derived from the 17-kDa antigen sequence of Rickettsia rickettsii gave specific amplification of a 434-base pair DNA fragment from the genome of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and endemic and epidemic typhus. The assay could detect as few as 30 rickettsiae. Detection of PCR-amplified DNA with a nonradioactive DNA probe confirmed an acute infection with Rickettsia prowazekii.
Carl
M
M
Naval Medical Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-5055.
Tibbs
C W
CW
Dobson
M E
ME
Paparello
S
S
Dasch
G A
GA
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012283:Rickettsia prowazekii / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012284:Rickettsia rickettsii / Q000235:genetics; D014438:Typhus, Epidemic Louse-Borne / Q000175:diagnosis*
D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial