Detection of brucella DNA by realtime PCR assay in brucellosis suspected patients' serum specimens with rose-bengal (+),serum tube agglutination test (-)and coombs test (-)

SUMMARYBrucellosis is a zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella and an importantpublic health problem in many parts of the world. There is still no effective vaccine forhumans and these bacteria can be used as bioterrorism agent.Brucellosis has a great variety of clinical manifestations, making it difficult todiagnose clinically. Therefore; isolation or detection of specific antibodies is essential forconfirmation of the diagnosis. Serologic tests play a major role in cases when the diseasecannot be detected by culture. However; the interpretation of these tests is often difficult;particularly in patients with chronic brucellosis and in areas of endemicity, where a highportion of the population have antibodies against brucellosis. In last decades; PCR-basedassays have been applied for diagnosis of brucellosis.In this study, a total of 90 serum samples were obtained from patients with brucellosissuspicion at Dicle University Medical Faculty Hospital Central Laboratory. The serumsamples were Rose Bengal test positive, Standart Tube Agglutination titer below 1/160 andCoombs test were negative. We aimed to detect Brucella DNA in these sera.The STA titer is 1/20 in 21 (%23.3) patients, 1/40 in 41 (%45.5) and 1/80 in 28(%31.1) patients. We detected Brucella DNA in 3 (%3.3) serum samples of patients. Weconcluded that these positive results belongs to chronic or incomplete treated patients.In conclusion; the PCR-based assay has several advantages including speed, safety,high sensitivity and specifity; therefore it can be considered a routine diagnostic method forthe diagnosis of brucellosis after standardization.42KAYNAKLAR1. Capasso L. Bacteria in two-millennia-old cheese, and related epizoonoses in Romanpopulations. 2002. J Infect. 45; 122-127.2. Sözen TH. Bruselloz. İnfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Mikrobiyolojisi. Ed: Topçu AW,Söyletir G, Doğanay M. Cilt 1, Sistemlere göre infeksiyonlar,2002. s: 636-642. Nobeltıp kitapevleri.3. Young EJ. Brucella species. Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R(eds). Principles andPractice of Infectious Diseases. 2000. 5th. Edition. vol 2, p: 2386-2391. Churchill,Livingstone, Philadelphia.4. Chu MC, Weyant RS: Francisella and Brucella. Eds: Murray Patrick R. Manual ofclinical microbiology. 2003. 8th edition. p: 789-808. ASM pres.Washington DC.5. Mamıkoğlu L. Bruselloz, Önemli ve sorunlu gram-negatif bakteri infeksiyonları.2005.Ed: Ulusoy S, Leblebicioğlu H, Arman D. sf :327-342 Bilimsel Tıp Yayınevi Ankara.6. Sümerkan B. Brucella Türleri. İnfeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Mikrobiyolojisi. Ed: TopçuAW, Söyletir G, Doğanay M. Cilt 2, Etkenlere göre infeksiyonlar, 2002. s: 1647-1652.Nobel tıp kitapevleri.7. Erdenliğ S. Türkiye?de Brucella kökenleri. 2003. 11. Türk Klinik Mikrobiyoloji veİnfeksiyon Hastalıkları Kongresi Kongre Kitabı. s: 214-216.8. Al Dahouk S, Tamaso H, Nöckler K, Neubauer H, Frangoulidis D. Laboratory-baseddiagnosis of brucellosis-A Review of literature .Part 1: Techniques for direct detectionand identification of Brucella spp. 2003. Clin Lab. 49: 487-505.9. Altoparlak Ü. Brusellozun etiyolojisi. 2003. Ankem Derg 17 (3): 330-332.43