Rapid diagnosis of bacterial meningitis by a seminested PCR strategy.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based diagnostic assay has been developed for the simultaneous detection in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Neisseria meningitidis, Haemophilus influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, Listeria monocytogenes and bacteria in general. In the present communication we describe the design of primers for S. pneumoniae, S. agalactiae, and L. monocytogenes, and a general PCR protocol for the assay. The diagnostic outcome is presented for a small collection of CSF specimens including 2 samples from patients with culture-negative purulent meningitis.