Aj. Lawson et al., Detection of campylobacter in gastroenteritis: comparison of direct PCR assay of faecal samples with selective culture, EPIDEM INFE, 121(3), 1998, pp. 547-553
The prevalence of campylobacter gastroenteritis has been estimated by bacte
rial isolation using selective culture, However, there is evidence that cer
tain species and strains are not recovered on selective agars, We have ther
efore compared direct PCR assays of faecal samples with campylobacter cultu
re, and explored the potential of PCR for simultaneous detection and identi
fication to the species level. Two hundred unselected faecal samples from c
ases of acute gastroenteritis were cultured on modified charcoal cefoperazo
ne deoxycholate agar and subjected to DNA extraction and PCR assay. Culture
on CCDA indicated that 16 of the 200 samples contained 'Campylobacter spp.
'. By contrast, PCR assays detected campylobacters in 19 of the 200 samples
, including 15 of the culture-positive samples, and further identified them
as: C. jejuni (16), C. coil (2) and C, hyointestinalis (1). These results
show that PCR offers a different perspective on the incidence and identity
of campylobacters in human gastroenteritis.