Development of a Nested Qualitative Real-Time PCR Assay To Detect Aspergillus Species DNA in Clinical Specimens

We adapted a nested Aspergillus PCR to a nested qualitative real-time format on a LightCycler system. An evaluation using 134 clinical specimens showed that the real-time PCR assay significantly reduced the time for results to be made available without compromising sensitivity and was less labor-intensive. Its use will aid in the rapid diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis.