Rapid Identification of Penicillin and Macrolide Resistance Genes and Simultaneous Quantification of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Purulent Sputum Samples Using a Novel Real-time Multiplex PCR Assay

Department of Laboratory Medicine, and Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto, Nagasaki City 852-8501, Japan

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: kyana-ngs{at}umin.ac.jp.

	Abstract

We evaluated the RQ-mPCR (real-time quantitative PCR combined with multiplex PCR) assay, for quantification of Streptococcus pneumoniae and simultaneous detection of drug resistant genes by gel-based PCR, using purulent sputum samples. This assay correctly quantified S. pneumoniae and identified their penicillin- and erythromycin- susceptibilities, directly from samples within 3 h.