Ultra-sensitive detection of Plasmodium falciparum by amplification of multi-copy subtelomeric targets.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Planning and evaluating malaria control strategies relies on accurate definition of parasite prevalence in the population. A large proportion of asymptomatic parasite infections can only be identified by surveillance with molecular methods, yet these infections also contribute to onward transmission to mosquitoes. The sensitivity of molecular detection by PCR is limited by the abundance of the target sequence in a DNA sample; thus, detection becomes imperfect at low densities. We aimed to increase PCR diagnostic sensitivity by targeting multi-copy genomic sequences for reliable detection of low-density infections, and investigated the impact of these PCR assays on community prevalence data.

Methods and findings

Two quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays were developed for

SUBMITTER: Hofmann N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4348198 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature