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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 97, No. 8, 2002, pp. 1157-1163
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Bioline Code: oc02252
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 97, No. 8, 2002, pp. 1157-1163
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Mtp-40 and Alpha Antigen Gene Fragment Amplification for the Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Colombian Clinical Specimens
Rosalba Alfonso; Rosa Elena Romero; Manuel Elkin Patarroyo & Luis Angel Murillo
Abstract
In this study, the use of Mtp-40 and alpha antigen polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification fragments for the precise tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis was evaluated. One hundred and ninety two different samples were obtained from 113 patients with suspected TB. Mtp-40 and alpha antigen protein genes were amplified by the PCR technique and compared to both the "gold standard" (culture) test, as well as the clinical parameters (including a clinical record and X-ray film exam in 113 patients). Thirty-eight of the 113 patients had a presumptive clinical diagnosis of TB; 74% being detected by PCR technique, 58% by culture and 44% by direct microscopic visualization. We conclude that it is possible to use PCR as a suitable technique for the detection of any mycobacteria by means of the alpha antigen product, or the specific infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by means of the mtp-40 gene. This might be a good supporting tool in difficult clinical TB diagnosis and pauci-bacillary cases.
Keywords
Mycobacterium tuberculosis - alpha antigen - Mtp-40 - polymerase chain reaction
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