[Development and evaluation of a PCR method for diagnosis of Salmonella enteric fever, based on DNA sequences of the hilA gene]

Typically, diagnosis of enteric fever due to Salmonella spp. is by bacterial isolation from blood culture; however, the blood culture method is slow, not always available, and not informative in patients with antibiotic treatment. Salmonella spp. uses the hilA gene (component of the pathogenicity island I) to invade epithelial cells and produce infection. Using the hilA gene sequence a PCR test was designed to detect Salmonella in blood samples. The sensitivity (S), specificity (SP), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the PCR method were obtained by testing the blood samples from 34 patients with suspected of enteric fever. Presence of S. typhi was confirmed by blood culture. Blood samples were also tested from 35 patients with infections due to other non-Salmonella pathogens, again corroborated by blood culture (Klebsiella pneumoniae, 9; Serratia marcescens, 5; Escherichia coli, 4; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 9; Providencia alcalifaciens, 4; Enterobacter cloacae, 4). Control samples were obtained from 150 healthy volunteers. The S, SP, PPV and NPV for the PCR method were all 100%. The lowest number of colony forming units/ml detected by PCR in blood samples was 10.