Evaluation of polymerase chain reaction and culture for diagnosis of pertussis in the control of a county-wide outbreak focused among adolescents and adults.
During a large pertussis outbreak, culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to identify 149 case patients; of these case patients, 79 had positive PCR and culture results, 59 had positive PCR results and negative culture results, 11 had negative PCR results and positive culture results (10 PCR-negative, culture-positive specimens were collected < or = 14 days after illness onset). PCR and culture of samples obtained < or = 2 weeks after illness onset and PCR of samples obtained > 2 weeks after illness onset proved to be most diagnostically useful.
Sotir
Mark J
MJ
Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Madison, WI 53702, USA. sotirmj@dhfs.state.wi.us
Cappozzo
Dianne L
DL
Warshauer
David M
DM
Schmidt
Carol E
CE
Monson
Timothy A
TA
Berg
Jeffrey L
JL
Zastrow
Jean A
JA
Gabor
Gerald W
GW
Davis
Jeffrey P
JP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D008828:Microbiological Techniques / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000592:standards*; D013997:Time Factors; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014922:Wisconsin / Q000453:epidemiology