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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, June 2005, p. 759-763, Vol. 12, No. 6
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.6.759-763.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of PCR-Based Assay for Diagnosis of Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis in Human Serum Samples

Yeon-Joo Choi,1,2 Seung-Hyun Lee,1,2 Kyung-Hee Park,1,2 Young-Sang Koh,3 Keun-Hwa Lee,3 Hyung-Suk Baik,4 Myung-Sik Choi,5 Ik-Sang Kim,5 and Won-Jong Jang1,2*

Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Choongju-si, Choongbuk 380-701,1 Institute of Biomedical Science and Technology, Konkuk University, Seoul 143-701,2 Department of Microbiology, Cheju National University College of Medicine, Jeju 690-756,3 Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Pusan 609-7352,4 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Institute of Endemic Disease, Seoul 110-799, Republic of Korea5

Received 7 February 2005/ Returned for modification 16 March 2005/ Accepted 18 March 2005

A nested PCR assay was developed for the detection of spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae in serum samples. The assay was based on specific primers derived from the rickettsial outer membrane protein B gene (rompB) of Rickettsia conorii. An SFG rickettsia-specific signal is obtained from R. akari, R. japonica, R. sibirica, and R. conorii. Other bacterial species tested did not generate any signal, attesting to the specificity of the assay. As few as seven copies of the rompB gene of R. conorii could be detected in 200 µl of serum sample. The assay was evaluated with a panel of sera obtained from patients with acute-phase febrile disease tested by immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). The SFG rickettsia-specific DNA fragment was detected in 71 out of 100 sera, which were proven to have immunoglobulin M antibodies against SFG rickettsial antigen by IFA. The results were further confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing analysis of the DNA fragments. The results indicated that this PCR assay is suitable for the diagnosis of spotted fever group rickettsiosis in Korea.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Konkuk University, Choongu-shi, Choongbuk 380-701, Republic of Korea. Phone: 82-43-840-3724. Fax: 82-43-851-9329. E-mail: wjjang{at}kku.ac.kr.

Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, June 2005, p. 759-763, Vol. 12, No. 6
1071-412X/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/CDLI.12.6.759-763.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Ma, J.-S., Jang, W.-J., Choi, Y.-J., Park, K.-H. (2005). Japanese Spotted Fever in Korea. J. Clin. Microbiol. 43: 4306-4307 [Full Text]  


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