title: Comparison of real-time PCR and conventional hemi-nested PCR for the detection of Bordetella pertussis in nasopharyngeal samples.
abstract: We directly compared a conventional hemi-nested PCR assay with a real-time (LightCycler) PCR assay for the detection of Bordetella pertussis in nasopharyngeal samples. Of the 152 samples tested, 49 (32%) were positive by first-round conventional PCR, 56 (37%) were positive by the hemi-nested PCR assay, and 39 (26%) were positive by the real-time assay. All samples testing positive with the real-time assay were also positive by the hemi-nested assay (both first- and second-round PCR), and all culture-positive samples tested positive by both PCR assays. These results suggest that the hemi-nested assay is more sensitive than the real-time assay for detecting B. pertussis.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Unit, Canterbury Health Laboratories, PO Box 151, Christchurch, New Zealand.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Beynon
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Murdoch
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D009302:Nasopharyngeal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000175:diagnosis*