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Journal of Medical Microbiology logo Journal of Medical Microbiology

Volume 74, Issue 7

Clinical evaluation of two commercial PCR kits for the detection of nonviral sexually transmitted infections Open Access

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a worldwide health issue with a high number of asymptomatic cases and the possibility of multiple infections.

New multiplex real-time PCR kits targeting pathogens involved in nonviral STIs are regularly launched, but only some of them have been evaluated in comparative studies.

This study evaluated the clinical performance of two multiplex real-time PCR commercial kits for the detection of , , and : the Bosphore STD Urethritis Mini Bundle Kit (BK; Anatolia Geneworks) and the Viasure Sexually Transmitted Disease Real-Time PCR Detection Kit (VK; CerTest BIOTEC).

A total of 240 clinical specimens were evaluated. The results were compared with those of the Cobas CT/NG and TV/MG kits (Roche Diagnostics), used as reference methods.

Positive agreement ranged between 83.3% and 87.8% for the detection of , and using validated specimen types. For detection, positive agreement was 83.0% for the BK and 68.1% for the VK, which missed 31.9% of -positive specimens. Negative agreement ranged between 98.4% and 100% across the targeted micro-organisms. Both kits were easy to use and compatible with several DNA extraction and PCR thermal cyclers. The VK also detected the genital commensal bacteria spp. and , which should not be targeted in STI detection kits.

Both kits are convenient methods and showed good performance for the detection of nonviral STIs, but users should be aware of a lower sensitivity of the VK for the detection of .

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): bacterial sexually transmitted infections , Chlamydia trachomatis , Mycoplasma genitalium , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , real-time multiplex PCR and Trichomonas vaginalis
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • French National Reference Center for bacterial STIs
    • Principle Award Recipient: SabinePereyre
© 2025 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
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/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002037
2025-07-03
2025-07-10
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/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002037
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Clinical evaluation of two commercial PCR kits for the detection of nonviral sexually transmitted infections
J. Med. Microbiol. 74, 002037 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.002037
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002037
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.002037
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