Comparison of four PCR methods for efficient detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in routine diagnostics

Seiringer, Peter; Pritsch, Michael; Flores-Chavez, Maria; Marchisio, Edoardo; Helfrich, Kerstin; Mengele, Carolin; Hohnerlein, Stefan; Bretzel, Gisela; Löscher, Thomas; Hölscher, Michael and Berens-Riha, Nicole (2017): Comparison of four PCR methods for efficient detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in routine diagnostics. In: Diagnostic Microbiology and infectious Disease, Vol. 88, No. 3: pp. 225-232

Abstract

Due to increased migration, Chagas disease has become an international health problem. Reliable diagnosis of chronically infected people is crucial for prevention of non-vectorial transmission as well as treatment. This study compared four distinct PCR methods for detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA for the use in well-equipped routine diagnostic laboratories. DNA was extracted of T. cruzi-positive and negative patients' blood samples and cultured T. cruzi, T. rangeli as well as Leishmania spp. One conventional and two real-time PCR methods targeting a repetitive Sat-DNA sequence as well as one conventional PCR method targeting the variable region of the kDNA minicircle were compared for sensitivity, intra- and interassay precision, limit of detection, specificity and cross-reactivity. Considering the performance, costs and ease of use, an algorithm for PCR-diagnosis of patients with a positive serology for T. cruzi antibodies was developed. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Medicine
• Subjects: 600 Technology > 610 Medicine and health
• ISSN: 0732-8893
• Language: English