Comparison of serial Hepatitis C virus detection in samples submitted through serology for reflex confirmation versus samples directly submitted for quantitation.

Using real-time technology, we reliably identified chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and quantified virus from reflex samples originally submitted for serologic testing. There was no need to process specimens obtained directly for quantitation separately. Whether the initial source is a reflex sample or one obtained directly, a repeat HCV RNA test is needed before starting treatment.

Molecular genotyping of a large, multicentric collection of tubercle bacilli indicates geographical partitioning of strain variation and has implications for global epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis continues to be a major killer disease, despite an all-out effort launched against it in the postgenomic era. We describe here the population structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, as revealed by a chromosome-wide scan of fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphisms (FAFLPs), for more than 1,100 independent isolates from 11 different countries. The bacterial strains were genotyped based on a total of 136 +/- 1 different FAFLP markers at the genome sequence interface, with details on IS6110 profiles, drug resistance status, clinicopathological observations, and host status integrated into the analysis process.