Major outbreak of pertussis in northern Alberta, Canada: analysis of discrepant direct fluorescent-antibody and culture results by using polymerase chain reaction methodology

Abstract excerpt

A major outbreak of 5,683 cases of pertussis occurred in northern Alberta, Canada, from December 1989 to January 1991. The outbreak highlighted a number of problems with current methods of pertussis diagnosis. In particular, an exceptionally high proportion of direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA)-positive, culture-negative specimens (88.4%) was identified. We took this opportunity to use polymerase chain reaction...

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