Detection of Arcobacter Species in Human Stool Samples by Culture and Real-time PCR

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Objective: The clinical significance of Arcobacter species has not been established due to a lack of suitable detection methods.

Material and Methods: A total of 1,650 stool samples submitted to the Clinical Laboratory of Heidelberg University Hospital were inoculated onto agar plates selective for Campylobacter species isolation and incubated at 37℃.

Results: Four (0.24%) of the samples were positive for Arcobacter butzleri isolates. Genus-specific primers for real-time PCR were designed to identify Arcobacter species. Of the 1,650 stool samples tested, twelve (0.73%), including the four culture-positive samples, were positive for Arcobacter species by real-time PCR. The sensitivity of real-time PCR was 10 ⁴ CFU g ^-1 stool, 50 CFU reaction ^-1 using a stool sample.

Conclusions: Although the sensitivity of real-time PCR was relatively low compared with other PCR methods, the present method detected a broad range of Arcobacter species. The combination of the stool culture using agar selective for Campylobacter species and real-time PCR for Arcobacter species may be clinically useful for the diagnosis and epidemiology of Arcobacter species infections.