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Published on: February 4, 2018
[A pseudo-outbreak of pharyngeal gonorrhoea related to a false-positive PCR-result]
A Verzijl1, P J M Berretty, A Erceg
1Catharina-ziekenhuis, afd. Dermatologie, Michelangelolaan 2, 5623 EJ Eindhoven. annette.verzijl@cze.n
Abstract:
Nucleic acid amplification tests, including the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are sensitive and specific tests that are often used for diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A pseudo-outbreak of pharyngeal gonorrhoea in a group of prostitutes turned out to have been caused by false-positive test results due to commensal oropharyngeal Neisseria species. Specific molecular tests may yield erroneous results. When the results of an STD study have major consequences at a legal or social level, it is advisable, in consultation with a medical microbiologist, to take a sample for culture or to carry out a second molecular test aimed at a different part of the bacterial genome.
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