title: Application of nested polymerase chain reaction for the rapid diagnosis of infant botulism type B.
abstract: A nested polymerase chain reaction was utilized to successfully detect the type B botulinum neurotoxin gene of Clostridium botulinum in feces from a 6-month-old patient, who had already been diagnosed with type B infant botulism by mouse bio-assay. This method of rapid diagnosis without enrichment culture of feces can be applied to other types of toxins in the use of the type-specific primers. Further investigations, however, are required to define the sensitivity and specificity of the method.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kanazawa Medical University, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kakinuma
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay; D001906:Botulism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D003014:Clostridium botulinum / Q000145:classification; D017931:DNA Primers; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers