title: Identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex by polymerase chain reaction of Exact Tandem Repeat-D fragment from mycobacterial cultures.
abstract: This study evaluated an in-house polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for rapid identification of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) using the MTBC-specific Exact Tandem Repeat D (ETR-D) as the amplification target. In a prospective study, 801 clinical isolates identified as MTBC and 15 nontuberculous mycobacteria were analyzed. Mycobacterial DNA was extracted from automated broth cultures or from egg-based media. The amplification of the ETR-D showed to a sensitivity of 99.6% and a specificity of 100% for the correct identification of MTBC; improved extractions protocols led to 100% sensitivity. The main utility of this technique is the simplicity, rapidity, low cost and accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Comisión Honoraria para la Lucha Antituberculosa y Enfermedades Prevalentes, Centro de Referencia Nacional para Micobacterias, Departamento de Laboratorio, 18 de Julio av. 2175 6p, CP 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: ccoitinho@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coitinho
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, CP 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Greif
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Mataojo 2020, CP 11400 Montevideo, Uruguay; Depto. de Bioquímica, Facultad de Medicina, Gral. Flores 2125, CP 11800 Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robello
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, 6500 HC, P.O. Box 9102, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Ingen
authors.affiliation: Comisión Honoraria para la Lucha Antituberculosa y Enfermedades Prevalentes, Centro de Referencia Nacional para Micobacterias, Departamento de Laboratorio, 18 de Julio av. 2175 6p, CP 11200 Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rivas
keywords: Diagnosis; ETR-D; Identification; M. tuberculosis complex