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Diagnosis of Acute Typhus Infection Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction a
Author(s) -
CARL M.,
TIBBS C. W.,
DOBSON M. E.,
PAPARELLO S. F.,
DASCH G. A.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1990.tb42252.x
Subject(s) - library science , navy , medicine , operations research , political science , computer science , engineering , law
We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of an acute rickettsial infection. A primer pair derived from the 17-kDa antigen sequence of Rickettsia rickettsii amplified specifically a 434-bp DNA fragment from the genome of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and endemic and epidemic typhus. The assay was able to detect as few as 30 rickettsiae. Detection of PCR-amplified DNA with a digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe confirmed an acute human infection with Rickettsia prowazekii.