Article
Microbiology
Xue-Lian Luo, Xiu-Dan Zhang, Bei-Jie Li, Tian Qin, Zhi-Jie Cao, Qian-Jin Fan, Jing Yang, Dong Jin, Shan Lu, Ya-Yun Zheng, Xue-Fang Xu, Ji Pu, Jianguo Xu
Summary: Lassa virus is an important human pathogen causing hemorrhagic fever in West Africa, with an increasing risk of imported cases to other countries due to increased traveling. The high nucleotide diversity of the virus strains complicates the development of diagnostic assays. The GPC RT-PCR/2007 assay and the Mabsky kit showed good sensitivity and specificity for detecting most LASV strains.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Felix Weinreich, Andreas Hahn, Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt, Simone Kann, Torsten Feldt, Fred Stephen Sarfo, Veronica Di Cristanziano, Hagen Frickmann, Ulrike Loderstaedt
Summary: This study compared and evaluated the application of real-time PCR in the diagnosis of Giardia duodenalis. Results showed that the 18S rRNA gene-specific screening PCR and the BG gene-specific assemblage identification PCR had the best accuracy. Adding highly specific confirmation tests can further improve diagnostic specificity.
Article
Microbiology
Simone Kann, Gustavo Concha, Felix Weinreich, Andreas Hahn, Christian Rueckert, Joern Kalinowski, Olfert Landt, Hagen Frickmann
Summary: This study compared the performance of two commercial real-time PCR assays for identifying Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in serum. The results showed that both assays had a similar diagnostic accuracy for detecting T. cruzi from human serum, with slightly higher specificity observed for the TibMolBiol assay. The RealStar assay exhibited cross-reactions with T. rangeli, a non-pathogenic parasite, which may be a disadvantage in areas where T. cruzi and T. rangeli co-circulate.
Article
Plant Sciences
Marta Luigi, Ariana Manglli, Carla Libia Corrado, Antonio Tiberini, Elisa Costantini, Luca Ferretti, Laura Tomassoli, Sabrina Bertin
Summary: In this study, RT-PCR and RT-ddPCR assays targeting CP genes of WMV and ZYMV were developed and validated. These assays showed high sensitivity and specificity for virus detection in naturally infected samples and across various cucurbit hosts. The RT-ddPCR assays allowed direct estimation of virus concentrations and had broad applications in disease management.
Article
Microbiology
Felix Weinreich, Andreas Hahn, Kirsten Alexandra Eberhardt, Torsten Feldt, Fred Stephen Sarfo, Veronica Di Cristanziano, Hagen Frickmann, Ulrike Loderstaedt
Summary: In this study, three molecular targets for real-time PCR-based detection of Cryptosporidium spp. were compared in a population of 1000 individuals. The SSU rRNA gene PCR showed the highest sensitivity, while the COWP gene PCR exhibited the highest specificity. There was substantial agreement between the three assays, indicating that a combination of sensitive and specific PCR tests can provide reliable diagnosis of Cryptosporidium spp. in stool samples, even in low prevalence settings.
Article
Plant Sciences
Qingcong He, Dongwei Wang, Bei Tang, Jian Wang, Deyong Zhang, Yong Liu, Feixue Cheng
Summary: In this study, specific primers were designed for rapid identification and quantification of the plant-parasitic nematode Meloidogyne graminicola in soil. Both LAMP and real-time PCR showed higher sensitivity in detecting the nematode compared to conventional PCR. These methods have the potential to provide a useful platform for rapid species identification and quantification of economically important PPNs.
Article
Fisheries
Yanmin Guo, Yahui Wang, Zhaobin Fan, Xianlin Zhao, Sven M. Bergmann, Hanxu Dong, Yuqi Jin, Dongli Sun, Qianyi Mai, Weiqiang Liu, Weiwei Zeng
Summary: A qPCR and real-time RAA assay were established for the detection of LMBV, with qPCR more suitable for quantitative analysis in the laboratory and real-time RAA more suitable as a point-of-care diagnostic tool for on-site detection and screening of LMBV under farm conditions.
JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Florence Skyum, Ming Chen, Christian Backer Mogensen
Summary: This study evaluated a new fast in-house PCR assay for detecting norovirus and C difficile infections, showing acceptable sensitivity and specificity in fecal samples and rectal swabs. The assay reduced time consumption by half, indicating potential for clinical use pending further research to improve accuracy.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INFECTION CONTROL
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
M. Padmaja, Harkirat Singh, Harsh Panwar, Jyoti, Niraj Kumar Singh, Nirbhay Kumar Singh
Summary: Two multiplex SYBR Green based real-time PCR assays were standardized and evaluated to detect DNA from four canine haemoparasites. The assays showed high sensitivity and specificity compared to microscopic evaluation. The study also revealed the prevalence of different haemoparasites and identified risk factors associated with their infections.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Elena Whitney, David Pitrak, Kathleen G. Beavis, Nicholas M. Moore, Shivanjali Shankaran, Ana Precy Abeleda, Jessica Schmitt, Beverly E. Sha
Summary: This study identifies the accuracy of using S/CO ratio and antigen index (Al) to improve the diagnosis accuracy of acute HIV infection (AHI). The results show that a threshold value of 3.78 for S/CO ratio and 2.83 for Al can provide high sensitivity and specificity in identifying AHI patients. However, there may still be false-positive results, indicating the possibility of biological false-positives.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Polychronis Kostoulas, Paolo Eusebi, Sonja Hartnack
Summary: This study aimed to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of COVID-19 tests, including RT-PCR and LFIA, and found that the accuracy of LFIA varies with time after symptom onset, while RT-PCR shows consistently high specificity. Bayesian latent-class models provide a valid and efficient alternative for evaluating evolving diagnostics for COVID-19.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Carmen Chicharro, Javier Nieto, Silvia Miguelanez, Emilia Garcia, Sheila Ortega, Ana Pena, Jose Miguel Rubio, Maria Flores-Chavez
Summary: Leishmaniasis is an endemic parasitic disease caused by Leishmania infantum, with an annual incidence of 0.62 cases/100,000 inhabitants in Spain. The diagnosis of the disease is performed by parasitological, serological, and molecular tests. This study developed and validated two PCR methods, LeishGelPCR and Leish-qPCR, which showed excellent performance in the diagnosis of leishmaniasis.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Gwynngelle A. Borillo, Ron M. Kagan, Elizabeth M. Marlowe
Summary: This study demonstrates that multiplexed real-time RT-PCR genotyping has strong agreement with whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and may provide additional SARS-CoV-2 variant screening capabilities when WGS is unavailable or cost-prohibitive. RT-PCR genotyping assays can also supplement existing sequencing efforts, providing rapid results at or near the time of diagnosis to guide patient management.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Marina K. V. C. Delphino, Nicole O'Brien, Emilie Laurin, Daryl Whelan, Holly Burnley, Keith Larry Hammell, Krishna Kumar Thakur
Summary: This study used Bayesian latent class analysis to estimate the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of IFAT and qRT-PCR for detecting Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus. The results showed that qRT-PCR had higher sensitivity and was suitable for routine surveillance. IFAT also had high specificity and was suitable for monitoring ISA.
Article
Fisheries
Yolanda Torres-Corral, Ysabel Santos
Summary: This study developed a rapid and accurate qPCR-based method for detecting Streptococcus iniae in bacterial cultures and diseased fish tissues. The method showed high specificity and sensitivity, making it a potential routine tool in microbiological laboratories.
JOURNAL OF FISH DISEASES
(2021)