Rapid and Specific Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Using the Smart Cycler Instrument and a Specific Fluorogenic Probe

A procedure using the Smart Cycler instrument and a fluorescence quencher (FQ) probe for the specific identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) was used to detect organisms in 366 acid-fast bacillus smear-positive respiratory specimens. It was compared to culture and the AMPLICOR M. tuberculosis PCR test. MTB was isolated from 198 of these samples. The FQ PCR assay was sensitive (197 of 198, 99.5%) and specific (165 of 168, 98.2%); no significant difference was observed between the two PCR protocols. After DNA extraction, a final result was available within 1.5 h with the real-time PCR protocol.