Determination of sensitivity and specificity of PCR in diagnosis of human brucellosis

Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in Iran. In most cases، the diagnosis of brucellosis is difficult not only because of its clinical similarity to many infectious and noninfectious diseases، but also because diagnostic methods often fail to detect organisms. PCR is a rapid and safe diagnostic method applied to the diagnosis of brucellosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of PCR for diagnosis of human brucellosis by using serum samples. This study which was done to evaluate diagnostic tests included30 serum samples from patients with clinical presentation of brucellosis with positive Wright test and serum samples of30 healthy people with negative Wright test. These samples were examined by PCR. PCR results were positive for 15 samples of the patients group in comparison with 4 samples from the 30 healthy subjects. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR were 50% and 86. 6%، respectively. Although in some studies، the preferred sample for diagnosis of brucellosis was serum، in this study، PCR on serum samples did not indicate high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of brucellosis. Hence، using a combination of methods for diagnosis of human brucellosisis suggested.