Fluorescence In situ hybridization assay using peptide nucleic acid probes for differentiation between tuberculous and nontuberculous mycobacterium species in smears of mycobacterium cultures.

ABSTRACT: TB PNA FISH is a new fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes for differentiation between species of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in acid-fast bacillus-positive (AFB+) cultures is described. The test is based on fluorescein-labelled PNA probes that target the rRNA of MTC or NTM species applied to smears of AFB+ cultures for microscopic examination. Parallel testing with the two probes serves as an internal control for each sample such that a valid test result is based on one positive and one negative reaction. TB PNA FISH was evaluated with 30 AFB+ cultures from Denmark and 42 AFB+ cultures from Thailand. The MTC-specific PNA probe showed diagnostic sensitivities of 84 and 97%, respectivel

SUBMITTER: Stender H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC85371 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature