[Development of a test system for detecting Leptospira interrogans using the polymerase chain reaction]

Based on polymerase chain reaction a test-system has been elaborated permitting one to identify the leptospirae of the most common serogroups (Icterohaemorrhagiae, Canicola, Javanica, Ballum, Pyrogenes, Pomona, Habdomadis, Sejroe, Tarassovi) of the species Leptospira interrogans. Sensitivity of the technique is 1-10 cells in a sample. The specificity of the system has been shown to depend on the temperature of the primers annealing. The elaborated system exceeds all other systems for leptospiral identification in sensitivity. It is prospective for leptospiral identification in biological liquids aimed at early diagnosis of leptospiroses and in the studies of leptospiral persistence in host organisms in the saprophitic phase of life cycle.