ArticleBMC infectious diseases2019
Development of a combined RLEP/16S rRNA (RT) qPCR assay for the detection of viable M. leprae from nasal swab samples.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative analysis of the leprosy detection rate regarding its clinical spectrum through PCR using theFrontiers in microbiology · 2024Pooled it
- Buruli ulcer.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025Review
- A rare case of lepromatous leprosy in Germany.Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG · 2025Article
- Molecular Detection ofTropical medicine and infectious disease · 2025Review
- qPCR detection ofFrontiers in molecular biosciences · 2024Article
- Fever of unknown origin, blood and cerebrospinal fluid involvement: a leprosy case report.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Article
- Challenges and advances in serological and molecular tests to aid leprosy diagnosis.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2023Review
- Article
- Heterogeneous persistence of Mycobacterium leprae in oral and nasal mucosa of multibacillary patients during multidrug therapy.Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz · 2022Article
- Utility of Multi-target Nested PCR and ELISPOT Assays for the Detection of Paucibacillary Leprosy: A Possible Conclusion of Clinical Laboratory Misdiagnosis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Bacilloscopy and polymerase chain reaction of slit-skin smears and anti-phenolic glycolipid-I serology for Hansen's disease diagnosis.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- RLEP LAMP for the laboratory confirmation of leprosy: towards a point-of-care test.BMC infectious diseases · 2021Article
- Ultrasensitive Detection ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Development of a Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique for specific and early detection of Mycobacterium leprae in clinical samples.Scientific reports · 2021Observational
- Standardization of SYBR Green-Based Real-Time PCR Through the Evaluation of Different Thresholds for Different Skin Layers: An Accuracy Study and Track of the Transmission Potential of Multibacillary and Paucibacillary Leprosy Patients.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- Article
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14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLeprosy continues to be a health problem in endemic areas. More than 200,000 new cases of leprosy per year suggest that transmission of the disease is still ongoing, presumably as airborne infection through nasal droplets. Late diagnosis supports continued transmission and increases the individual risk for functional disabilities. Laboratory tools are considered beneficial to facilitate early detection and clinical assessment of cases. The aim of this study was to validate molecular tools allowing detection, quantification and assessment of viability of M. leprae from nasal swab samples which are easy to obtain without the need of any invasive procedures.
methodsValidation of two real-time PCRs detecting M. leprae DNA (RLEP qPCR) and RNA (16S rRNA RT qPCR) was conducted on "must not detect"/"must detect" samples and 160 pre-treatment nasal swab samples from 20 clinically diagnosed multibacillary (MB) leprosy patients from Togo.
resultsBoth assays were 100% M. leprae specific and showed analytical sensitivities of three templates each. Out of 20 clinically diagnosed MB leprosy patients, 15 (75.0%) had a positive RLEP qPCR result from nasal swab samples. The 16S rRNA RT qPCR detected viable bacilli in nasal swab samples of ten out of these 15 RLEP positive patients (66.7%).
conclusionThe combined RLEP/16S rRNA (RT) qPCR assay provides a sensitive and specific tool to determine the bacterial load and viability of M. leprae from nasal swab samples and is applicable for early diagnosis, monitoring treatment response and investigating the role of nasal carriage of M. leprae in human-to-human transmission through aerosol infection.
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