JCM Figure table search 04
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mayta, H.
Right arrow Articles by Vivar, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mayta, H.
Right arrow Articles by Vivar, A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2000, p. 2683-2687, Vol. 38, No. 7
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

18S Ribosomal DNA-Based PCR for Diagnosis of Trichomonas vaginalis

Holger Mayta,1 Robert H. Gilman,1,2,3,* Maritza M. Calderon,1 Aren Gottlieb,4 Giselle Soto,3 Iskra Tuero,5 Sixto Sanchez,6 and Aldo Vivar3,7

Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology,1 and Laboratory of Biochemistry, Department of Physiological Sciences,5 Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, and A. B. PRISMA,3 Hospital Dos de Mayo,6 and Hospital Arzobispo Loayza,7 Lima, Peru; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York4; and Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland2

Received 3 January 2000/Returned for modification 25 March 2000/Accepted 29 April 2000

Trichomonas vaginalis remains the most common sexually transmitted parasite in the world and is considered a major risk factor in the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus. A PCR technique using primers targeting a specific region of the 18S rRNA gene of T. vaginalis was developed. The PCR test was standardized using 15 reference strains, giving a single product of 312 bp in all strains. No amplification was observed when DNA from related organisms or human DNA was used as a target. The test was evaluated on 372 vaginal swab specimens and 361 urine samples from women attending infertility and obstetric clinics at two separate hospitals in Lima, Peru. Compared to T. vaginalis culture, the overall sensitivity and specificity of PCR of vaginal swab samples was 100% and 98%, respectively. The PCR of urine samples was 100% sensitive and 99.7% specific compared to culture of vaginal swab, but the sensitivity drops to 83.3% when compared to PCR of vaginal swabs. All culture-positive samples were found to be positive by PCR in either urine or vaginal secretion. None of the PCR-negative samples were positive by culture. The origin of the amplification was confirmed by digestion of PCR products with HaeIII. This PCR assay, which is easy to perform and has a high sensitivity and specificity, should be useful for routine diagnosis of T. vaginalis infection.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 615 North Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205. Phone: (410) 614-3959. Fax: (410) 614-5050. E-mail: Rgilman{at}jhsph.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2000, p. 2683-2687, Vol. 38, No. 7
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. Clin. Microbiol. Rev.
Clin. Vaccine Immunol. ALL ASM JOURNALS

Copyright © 2000 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.