Application of dried blood spot sample pooling strategies for Plasmodium 18S rRNA biomarker testing to facilitate identification of infected persons in large-scale epidemiological studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plasmodium 18S rRNA is a sensitive biomarker for detecting Plasmodium infection in human blood. Dried blood spots (DBS) are a practical sample type for malaria field studies to collect, store, and transport large quantities of blood samples for diagnostic testing. Pooled testing is a common way to reduce reagent costs and labour. This study examined performance of the Plasmodium 18S rRNA biomarker assay for DBS, improved assay sensitivity for pooled samples, and created graphical user interface (GUI) programmes for facilitating optimal pooling.

Methods

DBS samples of varied parasite densities from clinical specimens, Plasmodium falciparum in vitro culture, and P. falciparum Armored RNA® were tested using the Plasmodium 18S rRNA quantitative triplex reverse transcr

SUBMITTER: Chang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8499573 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature