title: Real-time polymerase chain reaction detection of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii in human samples.
abstract: We report a TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol for diagnosing cryptococcosis. Specificity was tested with 33 fungal strains. The 7 clinical samples found positive by culture also tested positive by real-time PCR. No false negatives were found among the 94 clinical samples that were negative by culture for Cryptococcus spp. The sensitivity threshold was about 10 plasmid copies per assay.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Hospitalo-universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicale, Equipe EA3593, UFR de Médecine, Université des Antilles et de la Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana 97 300. vincent.veron@guyane.univ-ag.fr
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Veron
authors.forename: Stephane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blanchet
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aznar
mesh_terms: D003453:Cryptococcosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D003454:Cryptococcus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D003455:Cryptococcus neoformans / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity