Question

Chlamydia trachomatdryisis an obligatekml intracellular parasite and cannot be cultured in artificial media. The commonly used method for detecting this organism is _________________
a)polymerase chain reaction
b)selective liquid media
c)growth selective media
d)chlamydia trachomatis selective

Answer 1

Answer) a. Polymerase chain reaction

Chlamydia trichomatis is an intracellular parasitic bacteria which basically causes sexually transmitted disease in humans known as trichomoniasis. This bacteria unlike others cannot be cultured in artificial medium or for say any medium because it requires to grow inside a cell to propogate.This also makes this pathogen a very difficult organism to maintain in Laboratories.

Highly sensitive and specific technique which has been invented to diagnose this organism is polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or nucleic acid amplification technique.

Urethral swab samples or urine samples from the patient can be obatined and with the help of a PCR reaction the chlamydia's DNA is amplified specifically. This specificity that the DNA of the organism and not the host is amplified, is ensured by using highly specific primers which bind to pathogen's DNA only. Therefore, PCR has been proven to be a very effective diagnostic test for this pathogen.