PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) Testing for Leishmaniasis
Abstract
The disease Leishmaniasis, endemic in Africa, South West Asia, and South America, is caused by transmission of a parasite of the Leishmania species via the bite of an infected sandfly. The severity of the disease ranges from cutaneous lesions to a frequently fatal visceralization of the internal organs unless treated at an early stage. Detection of the parasiteis made difficult due to very low numbers of infected cells in peripheral blood. Existing tests for Leishmania parasite are time consuming and have high (50%) false negative rates. We report here the development of a rapid polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based diagnostic capable of detecting 1 infected cell in more than 5 mls of peripheral blood. The test has an accuracy greater than 92%, and a false negative rate of less than 8% when validated against known clinical samples. Leishmania, Polymerase chain reaction, Test, RAD I.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 20, 1993
- Accession Number
- ADA280671
Entities
People
- Frank A. White Iii