Comparative Evaluation of the Diagenode Multiplex PCR Assay on the BD Max System versus a Routine In-House Assay for Detection of Bordetella pertussis

This study looked at 128 nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) and 162 throat swabs (TS) tested with the Diagenode multiplex assay on the BD Max system versus our in-house Bordetella pertussis PCR. Sensitivity and specificity were 97.3% and 100% for NPA and 88.3% and 98% for TS, respectively. Of positive NPA, 42.1% were coinfected with respiratory viruses.

Pertussis remains one of the 10 leading causes of global childhood mortality in unvaccinated populations (1, 2). Although the number of laboratory-confirmed cases of pertussis decreased in November 2012 and decreased further in June 2013, activity in England and Wales has continued at raised levels compared to recent years (3).