DETECTION OF HAEMOPHILUS-INFLUENZAE AND STREPTOCOCCUS-PNEUMONIAE DNA IN BLOOD CULTURE BY A SINGLE PCR ASSAY

A multiplex PCR assay was developed to screen blood cultures from chil dren in The Gambia with suspected pneumonia for the simultaneous detec tion of Haemophilus influenzae type b and Streptoccus pneumoniae isola tes. Analysis of 295 blood cultures showed that PCR detected the organ isms in all samples positive by culture in two samples infected with H . influenzae type b and four samples infected with S. pneumoniae that were culture negative, indicating that this method is sensitive for de tecting these organisms in blood cultures.