Diagnosis of acute brucellosis by polymerase chain reaction technique

Abstract

Objective: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease which is a public health problem in our country like many parts of the world. The illness has nonspecific symptoms and physical signs. Bacterial culture is gold standard in the diagnosis of brucellosis but it is difficult and time consuming, so serologic techniques are used routinely. But serologic techniques have low specificity because of cross reactions. Molecular methods like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are good alternatives in the early and rapid diagnosis of brucellosis, as it is in other infectious diseases. The aim of this study was to compare PCR method with conventional methods in the diagnosis of brucellosis. Methods: The study included 35 patients and 20 healthy volunteers. Sera for serology and whole blood samples for PCR were collected from each subject in both groups. DNA was extracted from peripheral mononuclear cells obtained from the blood samples and an in house PCR assay was used to detect brucella DNA. Results: Standart tube agglutination (STA) titers of most patients were ?1/160, except one patient which was 1/80. Blood cultures were positive for 16 patients. The STA titers of all controls were negative. PCR was positive for 97% of the patients and all of the volunteers were negative. Conclusion: It is concluded that the tested PCR assay has high sensitivity in the diagnosis of brucellosis and it may be used in rapid and accurate diagnosis of brucellosis.