Evaluation of a Chlamydia trachomatis-specific, commercial, real-time PCR for use with ocular swabs

Parasites & Vectors
Harry PickeringSarah E Burr

Abstract

Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, is caused by conjunctival Chlamydia trachomatis infection. Trachoma is diagnosed clinically by observation of conjunctival inflammation and/or scarring; however, there is evidence that monitoring C. trachomatis infection may be required for elimination programmes. There are many commercial and 'in-house' nucleic acid amplification tests for the detection of C. trachomatis DNA, but the majority have not been validated for use with ocular swabs. This study evaluated a commercial assay, the Fast-Track Vaginal swab kit, using conjunctival samples from trachoma-endemic areas. An objective, biostatistical-based method for binary classification of continuous PCR data was developed, to limit potential user-bias in diagnostic settings. The Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay was run on 210 ocular swab samples from Guinea-Bissau and Tanzania. Fit of individual amplification curves to exponential or sigmoid models, derivative and second derivative of the curves and final fluorescence value were examined for utility in thresholding for determining positivity. The results from the Fast-Track Vaginal swab assay were evaluated against a commercial test (Amplicor CT/NG) and a non-commerc...Continue Reading

References

Aug 19, 2006·Bulletin of the World Health Organization·Paul M EmersonDavid Mabey
Dec 27, 2007·The Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology = Journal Canadien Des Maladies Infectieuses Et De La Microbiologie Médicale·Max A Chernesky
Apr 9, 2010·Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science·Martin J HollandRobin L Bailey
Feb 18, 2011·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Annie ChengJames E Kirby
Jun 23, 2011·Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science·Matthew J BurtonRobin L Bailey
May 3, 2013·Journal of Clinical Microbiology·Chrissy H RobertsMartin J Holland
Aug 12, 2014·The Lancet Global Health·Rupert R A BourneUNKNOWN Vision Loss Expert Group
Oct 27, 2016·PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases·Athumani M RamadhaniMatthew J Burton

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
MDA
nucleic acid amplification
PCR

Software Mentioned

qpcR

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