Pooling as a strategy for the timely diagnosis of soil-transmitted helminths in stool: value and reproducibility.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The strategy of pooling stool specimens has been extensively used in the field of parasitology in order to facilitate the screening of large numbers of samples whilst minimizing the prohibitive cost of single sample analysis. The aim of this study was to develop a standardized reproducible pooling protocol for stool samples, validated between two different laboratories, without jeopardizing the sensitivity of the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays employed for the detection of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). Two distinct experimental phases were recruited. First, the sensitivity and specificity of the established protocol was assessed by real-time PCR for each one of the STHs. Secondly, agreement and reproducibility of the protocol between the two di

SUBMITTER: Papaiakovou M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6745781 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature