Simple, Rapid Mycobacterium ulcerans Disease Diagnosis from Clinical Samples by Fluorescence of Mycolactone on Thin Layer Chromatography
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Date
2015-11-19
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Abstract
Mycobacterium ulcerans infection, known as Buruli ulcer, is a disease of the skin and subcutaneous
tissues which is an important but neglected tropical disease with its major impact
in rural parts of West and Central Africa where facilities for diagnosis and management are
poorly developed. We evaluated fluorescent thin layer chromatography (f-TLC) for detection
of mycolactone in the laboratory using samples from patients with Buruli ulcer and patients
with similar lesions that gave a negative result on PCR for the IS2404 repeat sequence of
M. ulcerans
Methodology/Principal findings
Mycolactone and DNA extracts from fine needle aspiration (FNA), swabs and biopsy specimen
were used to determine the sensitivity and specificity of f-TLC when compared with
PCR for the IS2404. For 71 IS2404 PCR positive and 28 PCR negative samples the sensitivity
was 73.2% and specificity of 85.7%for f-TLC. The sensitivity was similar for swabs
(73%), FNAs (75%) and biopsies (70%).
Description
An article published by PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases and is available at DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0004247
Keywords
Citation
PLoS Negl Trop Dis 9(11): e0004247. doi:10.1371/journal. pntd.0004247