Bacteriology throat by PCR
Streptococcus bacteria, in its various forms, cause frequent pharyngitis and sore throats, especially in children. These bacterial infections are effectively treated with antibiotics. But to stop the development of antibiotic resistance, it is important to identify the bacteria and use an appropriate antibiotic for it precisely. This important task is performed by taking a throat swab and running a PCR test.
Your doctor may prescribe this test when he suspects a bacteriologic throat invasion—depending upon the symptoms, which include: Throat pain, Painful swallowing, Red and swollen tonsils, Tiny red spots on the palate, Swollen and tender lymph nodes in your neck, Fever. This test helps him diagnose the exact pathogen responsible for the disease.
Most of the rapid antigen detection tests that are currently in use have an excellent specificity of greater than 95% and a sensitivity of greater than or equal to 90%. (1)
Molecular identification of the bacteria by nucleic acid amplification (PCR) significantly helps precisely identify the causative agent responsible for the infection. The PCR technique detects the positive cases of Streptococcal infections more accurately than Strepto-Direct and bacterial cultures. This specific test does not take a lot of time, is performed easily, and is fairly economical, thus accelerating proper infection management.
References:
- Leung, A. K., Newman, R., Kumar, A., & Davies, H. D. (2006). Rapid antigen detection testing in diagnosing group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal pharyngitis. Expert review of molecular diagnostics, 6(5), 761–766. https://doi.org/10.1586/14737159.6.5.761
- Figure from: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Isolation-and-Identification-of-Organism-from-Swab-Yadav-Farooq/b34e7db17795f1b664c35bce330a08739dac62a7/figure/2