Molecular evidence for the absence of an association between Simkania negevensis and respiratory diseases
Al-Younes, Hesham M. and Al-Zereini, Wael and Obeidat, Nathir M.,, 66, 1324-1327 (2017),
doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000564,
publicationName = Microbiology Society,
issn = 0022-2615,
abstract= Simkania negevensis has been implicated in respiratory diseases. This study aimed to unveil the aetiological role of this bacterium in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and bronchitis in Jordanian adults. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 98 CAP or bronchitis patients and 96 control individuals, and tested for Simkania nucleic acids using a PCR assay. The overall prevalence of the bacterial DNA in patients was markedly high and reached 57.1 %. Intriguingly, Simkania DNA was detected in 62.5 % of the nasopharyngeal swabs collected from apparently healthy controls (P>0.05). The DNA positivity in the bronchitis and CAP subgroups was 57.7 and 56.9 %, respectively, percentages that are approximately comparable to the DNA positivity assessed for the entire patient population. Simkania is most likely not a causative agent of CAP or bronchitis, despite its remarkable high prevalence. This organism, in the nasopharynx, is potentially harmless to the host and may coexist in a commensal relationship.,
language=,
type=