title: Improving specificity of Bordetella pertussis detection using a four target real-time PCR.
abstract: The incidence of whooping cough, a contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, is on the rise despite existing vaccination programmes. Similar, though usually milder, respiratory symptoms may be caused by other members of the Bordetella genus: B. parapertussis, B. holmesii, and B. bronchiseptica. Pertussis diagnosis is mostly done using PCR, but the use of multiple targets is necessary in order to differentiate the different Bordetella spp. with sufficient sensitivity and specificity. In this study we evaluate a multiplex PCR assay for the differentiation of B. pertussis from other Bordetella spp., using the targets IS481, IS1001, IS1002, and recA. Moreover, we retrospectively explore the epidemiology of Bordetella spp. infections in Belgium, using the aforementioned assay over a three-year period, from 2013 until 2015.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Department of Microbiology and Infection Control and Belgian National Reference Centre for Bordetella Pertussis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5877-9948
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Martini
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Department of Microbiology and Infection Control and Belgian National Reference Centre for Bordetella Pertussis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Liselot
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Detemmerman
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Department of Microbiology and Infection Control and Belgian National Reference Centre for Bordetella Pertussis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Oriane
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Soetens
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Department of Microbiology and Infection Control and Belgian National Reference Centre for Bordetella Pertussis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Erlangga
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yusuf
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZ Brussel), Department of Microbiology and Infection Control and Belgian National Reference Centre for Bordetella Pertussis, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piérard
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D057230:Limit of Detection; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology