Newly Developed Primers for Comprehensive Amplification of the <i>rpoB</i> Gene and Detection of Rifampin Resistance in <i>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i>

Abstract

New rpoB gene primers for detecting Rif(r) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex bacteria achieved 100% specificity and 88% (fresh sputa) and 92% (ethanol-preserved sputa) diagnostic sensitivity and detected up to 4 CFU/sample. Of the 99 Rif(r) isolates examined, 97% had mutations within cluster I, 2% at codon 176, and 1% at codon 497.