Aiding in the diagnosis of Coxiella burnetii infection (eg, Q fever) using tissue specimens
Sterile container
Refrigerated (preferred) - 7 days
Frozen - 7 days
Ambient - No
PCR
Bacterial nucleic acid is extracted from the specimen using the automated MagNA Pure instrument. The purified DNA is placed on the LightCycler instrument, which amplifies and monitors by fluorescence the development of target nucleic sequences after each PCR cycle. A specific target sequence from Coxiella burnetii is amplified and the resulting segment is detected using specific hybridization probes. Detection of the C burnetii target is performed through melting curve analysis using the LightCycler software.
Negative
A positive result indicates the presence of Coxiella burnetii DNA.
A negative result indicates the absence of detectable C burnetii DNA, but does not negate the presence of the organism and may occur due to inhibition of PCR, sequence variability underlying primers or probes, or the presence of C burnetii DNA in quantities less than the limit of detection of the assay.