title: Diagnosis of Wuchereria bancrofti infection by the polymerase chain reaction employing patients' sputum.
abstract: A preliminary evaluation of the diagnostic potential of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using diurnally collected sputum from bancroftian filariasis patients is described. A new set of PCR primers amplifying a 254-bp-long sequence termed AccI, derived from a long dispersed repeated sequence and SspI primers previously employed for PCR-based diagnosis were employed in this study with similar results. Of the 34 sputum samples from patients, 32 (94%) were PCR positive. Of the 18 patients with low to high microfilaremia (21-1560 microfilariae/ml), 16 (88.8%) were PCR positive. Of the remaining 16 patients, 6 with very low microfilaremia (2-6 microfilariae/ml) and 10 without microfilaremia, all (100%) were PCR positive. Two PCR-positive cases among the 13 endemic normal individuals tested (15.4%) may represent cases of occult filariasis. PCR amplification was also demonstrated with one PCR-positive sputum aliquot when mixed with 14 sputum aliquots from uninfected (PCR-negative) individuals. The potential diagnostic merits of the sputum-PCR assay are discussed.
authors.affiliation: The Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Githure
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ochola
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agure
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Koech
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Ramzy
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamburger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D018509:DNA, Helminth / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005368:Filariasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013183:Sputum / Q000469:parasitology*; D014958:Wuchereria bancrofti / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018509:DNA, Helminth