Therdsak PrammanananWattana CheunoyPreeyawit Na-UbolNipa TingtoySomboon SrimuangAngkana ChaiprasertMahidol UniversityThailand National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology2018-06-212018-06-212005-09-01Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health. Vol.36, No.5 (2005), 1252-1260012515622-s2.0-30344441548https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/16844Polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme analysis (PCR-REA) of the hsp65 gene was evaluated for use as a routine identification method for identifying mycobacteria. The accuracy, rapidity, and cost were assessed compared with the conventional biochemical method. Five hundred and forty-one mycobacterial clinical isolates obtained from the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, were submitted for PCR-REA and biochemical identification. PCR-REA showed high concordant result with 100, 96.2, and 94.1% for identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, rapid- and slow-growing mycobacteria, respectively. Discordant results were obtained from 24 (4.4%) out of 541 isolates, consisting of 9 rapid growers (6 M. chelonae, 2 M. abscessus, and 1 M. fortuitum) and 15 slow growers (9 M. scrofulaceum, 2 M. gordonae, 1 M. avium, 1 M. kansasii, 1 M. malmoense, and 1 M. terrae complex). PCR-REA demonstrated not only accurate results but was also less expensive (2.1 US$/sample). This method was rapid with a turn-around time of 30 hours compared with 2-4 weeks for the conventional method.Mahidol UniversityMedicineArticleSCOPUS