Comparison of plasmid- and chromosome-based polymerase chain reaction assays for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acids

Several laboratories have demonstrated that the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more sensitive than culture or enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis in genitourinary tract specimens when various DNA targets are used for amplification, including the cryptic plasmid, major outer membrane protein (MOMP), or rRNA genes. We compared the performances of five different PCR assays, including assays with two plasmid, two MOMP, …