Hong Kong Med J 2013;19(Suppl 5):S8-11
A real-time polymerase chain reaction protocol for rapid detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, drug resistance, and Beijing genotype
ETY Leung, M Ip, EWC Chan, RCY Chan
Department of Microbiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
 
 
1. DNA extraction methods enable molecular detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) from sputum specimens.
2. A sensitive and specific multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction assay enables simultaneous detection of MTB, isoniazid and rifampin resistance, and Beijing/W genotype.
3. Molecular diagnosis of MTB greatly reduces the turnaround time of conventional culture methods.