The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method presented in this study allows the identification of pneumococcal capsular serotypes in cerebrospinal fluid without first performing DNA extraction. This testing approach, which saves time and resources, demonstrated similar sensitivity and a high level of agreement between cycle threshold values when it was compared side-by-side with the standard qPCR method with extracted DNA.
Keywords: Streptococcus pneumoniae; direct real-time PCR; pneumococcal serotype.
Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America 2021.