Optimization and Evaluation of a Multiplex Quantitative PCR Assay for Detection of Nucleic Acids in Human Blood Samples from Patients with Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, Typhus Rickettsiosis, Scrub Typhus, Monocytic Ehrlichiosis, and Granulocytic Anaplasmosis
Megan E. Reller, J. Stephen Dumler
Abstract
were 93% and 84%, respectively, and specificities were 99% and 98%, respectively. This multiplex qPCR assay could support early clinical diagnosis and treatment, confirm acute infections in the absence of a convalescent-phase serum sample, and provide the high-throughput testing required to support large clinical and epidemiologic studies. Because replication of SFGR and TGR in endothelial cells results in very low bacteremia, optimal sensitivity of qPCR for these rickettsioses will require use of larger volumes of input DNA, which could be achieved by improved extraction of DNA from blood and/or extraction of DNA from a larger initial volume of blood.
Topics & Concepts
RickettsiosisEhrlichiosisScrub typhusVirologyTyphusRickettsiaMultiplexRickettsialesRickettsiaceaeSpotted feverBiologyMedicineTickVirusGeneBiochemistryBioinformaticsVector-borne infectious diseasesViral Infections and VectorsMosquito-borne diseases and control