Clinical evaluation of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for rapid detection of Neisseria meningitidis in cerebrospinal fluid.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a leading causative agent of bacterial meningitis in humans. Traditionally, meningococcal meningitis has been diagnosed by bacterial culture. However, isolation of bacteria from patients' cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is time consuming and sometimes yields negative results. Recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic methods of detecting Nm have been considered the gold standard because of their superior sensitivity and specificity compared with culture. In this study, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method and evaluated its ability to detect Nm in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Methodology/principal findings

We developed a meningococcal LAMP assay (Nm LAMP) that targets the ctrA gene. The primer s

SUBMITTER: Lee D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4390149 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature