The use of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) to detect the re-emerging Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Luangwa and Zambezi valleys

Background: Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel strategy which amplifies DNA with high sensitivity and rapidity under isothermal conditions. In the present study, the performance of the repetitive insertion mobile element (RIME)-LAMP and human serum resistance-associated gene (SRA)-LAMP assays were evaluated using clinical specimens obtained from four male patients from Luangwa and Zambezi valleys in Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively. Findings: The cases reported in this preliminary communication were all first diagnosed by microscopy, through passive surveillance, and confirmed by both RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP. A good correlation between microscopy and LAMP was observed and contributed to staging and successful treatment of patient. RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP complimented each other well in all the cases. Conclusions: Both RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP were able to detect Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense DNA in patient blood and CSF and hence confirmed HAT in the parasitaemic patients. Our study indicates that the LAMP technique is a potential tool for HAT diagnosis, staging and may be useful for making therapeutic decisions. However, no statistically significant conclusion may be drawn due to the limited sample size used in the present study. It is thus imperative to conduct a detailed study to further evaluate the potential of LAMP as a bedside diagnostic test for HAT

Additional file 2: Table S1. of Direct detection of falciparum and non-falciparum malaria DNA from a drop of blood with high sensitivity by the dried-LAMP system

Infection prevalence of Malaria species at three sampling sites in Zambia. (DOCX 71 kb

Additional file 1: Figure S1. of Direct detection of falciparum and non-falciparum malaria DNA from a drop of blood with high sensitivity by the dried-LAMP system

Samples collection sites in Zambia. Map showing human blood sampling sites in Zambia. The red star indicates the location of the sampling site. Red line: road; Blue line: landside waters; Gray line; boundary line. The map was downloaded from the International Steering Committee for Global Mapping. (TIFF 7390 kb

The use of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) to detect the re-emerging Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Luangwa and Zambezi valleys

Abstract Background Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel strategy which amplifies DNA with high sensitivity and rapidity under isothermal conditions. In the present study, the performance of the repetitive insertion mobile element (RIME)-LAMP and human serum resistance-associated gene (SRA)-LAMP assays were evaluated using clinical specimens obtained from four male patients from Luangwa and Zambezi valleys in Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively. Findings The cases reported in this preliminary communication were all first diagnosed by microscopy, through passive surveillance, and confirmed by both RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP. A good correlation between microscopy and LAMP was observed and contributed to staging and successful treatment of patient. RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP complimented each other well in all the cases. Conclusions Both RIME-LAMP and SRA-LAMP were able to detect Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense DNA in patient blood and CSF and hence confirmed HAT in the parasitaemic patients. Our study indicates that the LAMP technique is a potential tool for HAT diagnosis, staging and may be useful for making therapeutic decisions. However, no statistically significant conclusion may be drawn due to the limited sample size used in the present study. It is thus imperative to conduct a detailed study to further evaluate the potential of LAMP as a bedside diagnostic test for HAT.</p