A novel method of selective removal of human DNA improves PCR sensitivity for detection of Salmonella Typhi in blood samples.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Enteric fever is a major public health problem, causing an estimated 21million new cases and 216,000 or more deaths every year. Current diagnosis of the disease is inadequate. Blood culture only identifies 45 to 70% of the cases and is time-consuming. Serological tests have very low sensitivity and specificity. Clinical samples obtained for diagnosis of enteric fever in the field generally have <1 organism/ml of blood, so that even PCR-based methods, widely used for detection of other infectious diseases, are not a straightforward option in typhoid diagnosis. We developed a novel method to enrich target bacterial DNA by selective removal of human DNA from blood samples, enhancing the sensitivity of PCR tests. This method offers the possibility of improving PCR assays dir

SUBMITTER: Zhou L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3482578 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature