ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2013
Multiplex real-time PCR diagnostic of relapsing fevers in Africa.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It has been retracted, and should not be counted. Cited by 25 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tick borne relapsing fever - a systematic review and analysis of the literature.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Louse-borne relapsing fever-A systematic review and analysis of the literature: Part 1-Epidemiology and diagnostic aspects.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Pooled it
- Quantitative polymerase chain reaction from malaria rapid diagnostic tests to detect Borrelia crocidurae in Mali.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Editorial Note: Multispacer Sequence Typing Relapsing Fever Borreliae in Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Editorial Note: Tick-borne relapsing fever Borreliosis, a major public health problem overlooked in Senegal.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Editorial note: multiplex real-time PCR diagnostic of relapsing fevers in Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Article
- Article
- Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction from Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests to Detect Borrelia crocidurae, the Agent of Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, in Febrile Patients in Senegal.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Expression of Concern: Multiplex Real-Time PCR Diagnostic of Relapsing Fevers in Africa.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Novel approaches for the serodiagnosis of louse-borne relapsing fever.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Simultaneous Detection and Differentiation of Clinically Relevant Relapsing FeverJournal of clinical microbiology · 2021Article
- Tick-borne relapsing fever Borreliosis, a major public health problem overlooked in Senegal.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Article
- Epidemiology of Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever in Endemic Area, Spain.Emerging infectious diseases · 2020Article
- TickPath Layerplex: adaptation of a real-time PCR methodology for the simultaneous detection and molecular surveillance of tick-borne pathogens.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis infection).Epidemiology and infection · 2019Review
- Asymptomatic carriage of Streptococcus pneumoniae detected by qPCR on the palm of hands of populations in rural Senegal.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Case Report and Genetic Sequence Analysis of Candidatus Borrelia kalaharica, Southern Africa.Emerging infectious diseases · 2018Article
- Lice, rodents, and many hopes: a rare disease in a young refugee.Critical care (London, England) · 2017Article
- Louseborne Relapsing Fever in Young Migrants, Sicily, Italy, July-September 2015.Emerging infectious diseases · 2016Article
- Monoclonal Antibodies for the Diagnosis of Borrelia crocidurae.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
- Expression of concern · 2022-12-13Investigation by Journal/Publisher ·
- Commented on by
- Expression of concern
Authors and funding
14 authors at 8 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn Africa, relapsing fever borreliae are neglected arthropod-borne pathogens causing mild to deadly septicemia and miscarriage. The closely related Borrelia crocidurae, Borrelia duttonii, Borrelia recurrentis and Borrelia hispanica are rarely diagnosed at the species level, hampering refined epidemiological and clinical knowledge of the relapsing fevers. It would be hugely beneficial to have simultaneous detection and identification of Borrelia to species level directly from clinical samples. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsWe designed a multiplex real-time PCR protocol targeting the 16S rRNA gene detecting all four Borrelia, the glpQ gene specifically detecting B. crocidurae, the recN gene specifically detecting B. duttonii/B. recurrentis and the recC gene specifically detecting B. hispanica. Compared to combined 16S rRNA gene and flaB gene sequencing as the gold standard, multiplex real-time PCR analyses of 171 Borrelia-positive and 101 Borrelia-negative control blood specimens yielded 100% sensitivity and specificity for B. duttonii/B. recurrentis and B. hispanica and 99% sensitivity and specificity for B. crocidurae. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The multiplex real-time PCR developed in this study is a rapid technique for both molecular detection and speciation of relapsing fever borreliae from blood in Africa. It could be incorporated in point-of-care laboratory to confirm diagnosis and provide evidence of the burden of infection attributed to different species of known or potentially novel relapsing fever borreliae.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.