title: Dried blood spots for qPCR diagnosis of acute Bartonella bacilliformis infection.
abstract: Bartonella bacilliformis is the etiological agent of a life-threatening illness. Thin blood smear is the most common diagnostic method for acute infection in endemic areas of Peru but remains of limited value because of low sensitivity. The aim of this study was to adapt a B. bacilliformis-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for use with dried blood spots (DBS) as a sampling method and assess its performance and use for the diagnosis and surveillance of acute Bartonella infection. Only two of 65 children (3%) that participated in this study had positive blood smears for B. bacilliformis, whereas 16 (including these two) were positive by PCR performed on DBS samples (24.6%). The use of DBS in combination with B. bacilliformis-specific PCR could be a useful tool for public health in identifying and monitoring outbreaks of infection and designing control programs to reduce the burden of this life-threatening illness.
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom; Epidemiology, STI/AIDS Unit, School of Public Health, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Pieter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Smit
authors.forename: Rosanna W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Peeling
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Lorena L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Pérez-Lu
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mabey
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D001474:Bartonella Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D045503:Bartonella bacilliformis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D059788:Dried Blood Spot Testing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
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