Norazah A and Rohani MY
Division of Bacteriology, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia
CITATION: Norazah A, Rohani MY. Early detection of cholera cases and contacts by polymerase chain reaction. International Medical Research Journal. 1998 Jun;2(1):49–50.
ABSTRACT
Amplification of cholera toxin ctx gene in Vibrio cholera by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) allowed early detection of cholera cases and contacts when compared to conventional culture methods. All specimens that were positive by PCR (12 out of 74) were also culture positive. Diagnosis of cholera together with detection of toxin producing Vibrio cholerae strains can be achieved on the same day of specimen collection.
KEYWORDS: ctx gene, cholera, PCR diagnosis