What does the Molecular Gastrointestinal Pathogen Detection (multiplex PCR/qPCR — bacterial, parasitic, and viral targets) test measure?

Why is Molecular Gastrointestinal Pathogen Detection (multiplex PCR/qPCR — bacterial, parasitic, and viral targets) measured?

Molecular detection is sensitive and validated for identifying defined enteric pathogens and is a genuine strength of this profile relative to culture-only testing. A key limitation is that PCR detects nucleic acid whether or not the organism is viable, so a positive result must be correlated with the clinical picture, particularly shortly after treatment, and detection does not always equate to active infection.

Reference ranges

Standard reference

Not detected for pathogenic bacterial, parasitic, and viral targets; commensal targets reported as relative abundance against method-specific ranges

Functional medicine optimal

Not applicable to pathogen targets; a 'not detected' result is favourable but interpreted with clinical context

Units

detected / not detected, qPCR (relative)

Reference ranges vary by laboratory and assay platform. Interpret in context of the issuing laboratory's stated range.