Qiagen's Chlamydia kit detects new strain

Dutch molecular diagnostics firm Qiagen NV says that tests conducted by the County Hospital in Halmstad, Sweden, confirm that its artus Chlamydia trachomatis PCR kit is capable of detecting a recently-discovered, clinically-important strain of the organism. The firm explained that the new strain has deletion mutation in a specific region of its genome, the cryptic plasmid, which renders it undetectable using conventional molecular assays.

Qiagen added that, according to the latest research, nearly 40% of all C trachomatis infections in Sweden are caused by the new strain, which may have spread undetected to other countries.