Imagine you are a microbiologist responsible for analysing a respiratory swab sample from a patient with severe coughing fits and suspected Bordetella pertussis infection (whooping cough). Quick results are needed to determine the bacterial load. Due to the bacterium’s slow growth, waiting for traditional culture methods may delay treatment. Which approach would you choose to determine the bacterial load quickly and accurately?

Question

Imagine you are a microbiologist responsible for analysing a respiratory swab sample from a patient with severe coughing fits and suspected  Bordetella pertussis  infection (whooping cough). Quick results are needed to determine the bacterial load. Due to the bacterium’s slow growth, waiting for traditional culture methods may delay treatment. Which approach would you choose to determine the bacterial load quickly and accurately?

Answer

Use real-time PCR (qPCR) with primers specific to  Bordetella pertussis  DNA directly on the respiratory swab

Answer

Perform a traditional culture on the respiratory swab and use the isolated colonies for end-point PCR with specific primers

Answer

Start a traditional culture on the respiratory swab and then use the collected colonies for real-time PCR (qPCR)

Answer

Apply end-point PCR with specific primers for  Bordetella pertussis  DNA directly to the respiratory swab

Crowdly

Imagine you are a microbiologist responsible for analysing a respiratory swab sa...

Want instant access to all verified answers on lms.latrobe.edu.au?