Snelle diagnostiek van psittacose met behulp van een recent ontwikkelde realtime-PCR

- A 37-year-old man was admitted with cough and fever. Three days after admission he was tested using a newly developed real-time PCR technique that detects the DNA of Chlamydophila psittaci. The result was positive; serological investigation was not positive until 14 days later. Psittacosis is a potentially life-threatening infectious disease. Laboratory diagnosis relies mainly on the assessment of paired sera, but this approach has obvious disadvantages in the acute setting. Routine use of the real-time PCR technique led to the rapid diagnosis of psittacosis in 6 other patients. All 7 patients recovered after antibiotic treatment. This PCR technique is a valuable adjuvant to serological testing for the rapid diagnosis of psittacosis.