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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2007, p. 2305-2308, Vol. 45, No. 7
0095-1137/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.00102-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Real-Time PCR for Determining Capsular Serotypes of Haemophilus influenzae

Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Institut Jules Bordet, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

Received 15 January 2007/ Returned for modification 2 March 2007/ Accepted 4 May 2007

A two-step real-time PCR assay targeting all six capsulation loci of Haemophilus influenzae (i.e., serotypes a to f) was developed and compared with a previously published qualitative PCR assay by using 131 H. influenzae clinical isolates. There was a 98.5% concordance between the two tests. The sensitivity of detection of capsular type-specific reference strains of H. influenzae a to c (10¹ CFU/PCR) was higher than that for type e (10³ CFU/PCR) and types d and f (10⁴ CFU/PCR), and a broader dynamic range was obtained (5 to 8 log₁₀ units). No cross-reaction was observed with bacteria commonly isolated from the respiratory tract. We showed that both PCR assays are more reliable than slide agglutination serotyping. The real-time PCR-based assay seems to be an alternative of choice for the epidemiological follow-up of H. influenzae invasive infections.

Published ahead of print on 16 May 2007.