title: Multicenter validation of a multiplex PCR assay for differentiating the major Listeria monocytogenes serovars 1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, and 4b: toward an international standard.
abstract: The performance of a multiplex PCR assay that separates the four major serovars of the pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes into four distinct PCR groups was evaluated through a multicenter typing study. Identical panels of 90 Listeria isolates were distributed to five participating laboratories that were blind to the nature of the isolates. Isolates were characterized using the previously standardized protocol. Overall concordance was 96.6 to 100%, sufficient for the assay to be used as an alternative to serotyping and confidently applied in laboratories involved in L. monocytogenes typing.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire des Listeria, Centre National de Référence des Listeria, World Health Organisation Collaborating Center for Foodborne Listeriosis, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doumith
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jacquet
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gerner-Smidt
authors.forename: Lewis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.forename: Semir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loncarevic
authors.forename: Tone
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mathisen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morvan
authors.forename: Celia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salcedo
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torpdahl
authors.forename: Julio A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012703:Serotyping; D013045:Species Specificity