Noninvasive method for monitoring Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

The progression of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was temporally monitored and quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction of P. carinii-specific DNA in oral swabs and lung homogenates from infected rats. DNA levels correlated with the number of P. carinii organisms in the rats' lungs, as enumerated by microscopic methods. This report is the first of a noninvasive, antemortem method that can be used to monitor infection in a host over time.