Prevalence and Sequence Variants of IS <i>481</i> in <i>Bordetella bronchiseptica</i> : Implications for IS <i>481</i> -Based Detection of <i>Bordetella pertussis</i>

Abstract

We report the prevalence in Bordetella bronchiseptica of IS481, a frequent target for diagnosis of Bordetella pertussis, as approximately 5%. However, PCR amplicons of the predicted size were detectable in 78% of IS481-negative strains. Our results suggest that PCR targeting IS481 may not be sufficiently specific for reliable identification of B. pertussis.