2 research outputs found
Aetiology of Diarrhoea in a Birth Cohort of Children Aged 0-2 Year(s) in Rural Mirzapur, Bangladesh
The incidence of aetiology-specific diarrhoea and the pathogenicity of
infectious agents in a birth cohort (n=252) in rural Bangladesh were
determined. Stool specimens or rectal swabs were collected from
diarrhoeal cases over two years and routinely on a monthly basis. Stool
samples from children with diarrhoea were compared with stool samples
from children without diarrhoea to calculate rates of isolation and
pathogenicity of agents. In total, 1,750 stool specimens from diarrhoea
patients and 5,679 stool specimens from children without diarrhoea were
tested. An infectious agent was identified in 58% of the stool
specimens from diarrhoea patients and 21.6% of the stool specimens from
children without diarrhoea. The most commonly-isolated pathogens from
all specimens were enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC),
enteroadherent E. coli, Shigella , Campylobacter jejuni , Giardia ,
and rotavirus. ETEC (ST and LT-ST toxin), enterotoxigenic Bacteroides
fragilis , Shigella, and rotavirus were associated more with disease
than with asymptomatic infections. Aetiology-specific infections were
associated with acute episodes. The isolated enteropathogens were
essentially the same as those found in other tropical rural settings.
Enterotoxigenic B. fragilis was also identified as a pathogen. Ongoing
vaccine efforts focusing on Shigella, rotavirus, and ETEC would be
useful
Quantitative lateral flow strip assays as user-friendly tools to detect biomarker profiles for leprosy
Leprosy is a debilitating, infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Despite the availability of multidrug therapy, transmission is unremitting. Thus, early identification of M. leprae infection is essential to reduce transmission. The immune response to M. leprae is determined by host genetics, resulting in paucibacillary (PB) and multibacillary (MB) leprosy associated with dominant cellular or humoral immunity, respectively. This spectral pathology of leprosy compels detection of immunity to M. leprae to be based on multiple, diverse biomarkers. In this study we have applied quantitative user friendly lateral flow assays (LFAs) for four immune markers (anti-PGL-I antibodies, IL-10, CCL4 and IP-10) for whole blood samples from a longitudinal BCG vaccination field-trial in Bangladesh. Different biomarker profiles, in contrast to single markers, distinguished M. leprae infected from non-infected test groups, patients from household contacts (HHC) and endemic controls (EC), or MB from PB patients. The test protocol presented in this study merging detection of innate, adaptive cellular as well as humoral immunity, thus provides a convenient tool to measure specific biomarker profiles for M. leprae infection and leprosy utilizing a field-friendly technology