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Molecular Typing of Coxiella burnetii: A Review of Available Methods with Major Focus on PCR-Based Techniques

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Molecular Typing in Bacterial Infections

Part of the book series: Infectious Disease ((ID))

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Abstract

Coxiella burnetii, a strict intracellular Gram-negative bacterium, is the etiological agent of Q fever. The disease is a widespread zoonosis and is endemic throughout the world. An easy aerosol dissemination, environmental persistence, and high infectivity make the bacterium a serious threat for humans and animals, and therefore, its rapid and reliable detection and identification are of utmost importance. With the introduction of molecular techniques, remarkable improvements in the diagnostic capabilities of C. burnetii have been achieved although serological methods still play a vital role in human and animal screening. Availability of the whole genome sequence data of the bacterium has enabled the design and application of high-resolution molecular typing systems, which are briefly described in this chapter. The systematic genotyping of C. burnetii isolates will enhance our ability to identify the source of infections and consequently help to reduce the number of cases in natural outbreaks or deliberate release events.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the grants No. 2/0061/13 and 2/0026/12 of the Scientific Grant Agency of Ministry of Education of Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. HPL Medical Laboratories, Istrijska 20, 841 07, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    V. Boldis

  2. Institute of Virology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska cesta 9, 845 05, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    E. Spitalska & R. Toman

Authors
  1. V. Boldis
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  2. E. Spitalska
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  3. R. Toman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Toman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Nacional de Controle de, Qualidade em Saúde, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), Av. Brasil 4365, Rio de Janeiro, 21045-900, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Ivano de Filippis

  2. Microbiology, BioReliance Corporation, Broschart Road 14920, Rockville, 20850, Maryland, USA

    Marian L. McKee

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Boldis, V., Spitalska, E., Toman, R. (2013). Molecular Typing of Coxiella burnetii: A Review of Available Methods with Major Focus on PCR-Based Techniques. In: de Filippis, I., McKee, M. (eds) Molecular Typing in Bacterial Infections. Infectious Disease. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-185-1_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-185-1_26

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-184-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-185-1

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