Rapid detection of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis in clinical and molecular proficiency panel specimens with a novel intercalating dye-based PCR assay

Abstract

A novel rapid internally-controlled duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis that uses a new intercalating dye, LCGreen, for amplicon detection was designed and evaluated using clinical specimens and the 2009 Quality Control for Molecular Diagnostics (QCMD) molecular proficiency testing panel. The sensitivity and specificity of the new PCR assay were equal to that of reference standard uniplex probe-based assays. The assay can be performed in 1 h including DNA extraction. The new assay thus offers a simple and rapid alternative for the detection of B. pertussis and B. parapertussis.

Keywords::

• Bordetella pertussis
• duplex PCR
• Bordetella parapertussis
• internally-controlled
• LCGreen

Declaration of interest: No funding was received for this study. There are no commercial relationships or potential conflicts of interest related to the submission.