title: Development of a combined air sampling and quantitative real-time PCR method for detection of Legionella spp.
abstract: The objective of this study was to develop and optimize the combined methods of air sampling and real time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) for quantifying aerosol Legionella spp. Primers and TaqMan hydrolysis probe based on 5S rRNA gene specific for Legionella spp were used to amplify a specific DNA product of 84 bp. The impinger air sampler plus T-100 sampling pump was used to collect aerosol Legionella and as low as 10 fg of Legionella DNA per reaction could detected. Preliminary studies demonstrated that the developed method could detect aerosol Legionella spp 1.5-185 organisms /500 l of air within 5 hours, in contrast to culture method, that required a minimum of 7-10 days.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Chomrach
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sirigul
authors.forename: Waranya
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wongwit
authors.forename: Wantanee
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Phanprasit
authors.forename: Wantana
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Paveenkittiporn
authors.forename: Stuart D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Blacksell
authors.forename: Pongrama
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ramasoota
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants