AJTMH Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 77(3), 2007, pp. 444-446
Copyright © 2007 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bharti, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Vinetz, J. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Bharti, A. R.
Right arrow Articles by Vinetz, J. M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Diagnosis
Right arrow Malaria

SHORT REPORT


Polymerase Chain Reaction Detection of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum DNA from Stored Serum Samples: Implications for Retrospective Diagnosis of Malaria

Ajay R. Bharti, Kailash P. Patra, Raul Chuquiyauri, Margaret Kosek, Robert H. Gilman, Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas, AND Joseph M. Vinetz*
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California; Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

 

ABSTRACT

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of Plasmodium DNA is highly sensitive in diagnosing malaria. The specimen of choice for this assay has been whole blood samples from malaria patients. To retrospectively determine malaria infection rates in populations or cohorts for whom stored serum samples are available, we determined the ability of a nested PCR assay to detect Plasmodium DNA in stored serum samples. The PCR result was positive in 20 of 23 serum samples from patients with microscopy-confirmed malaria and negative in 8 of 8 healthy controls, resulting in a sensitivity of 87% and specificity of 100%. In all positive samples, species were correctly identified by PCR except for one case where a mixed infection was detected. The PCR is able to detect Plasmodium DNA in serum samples frozen up to 2.5 years and has the potential for the retrospective identification of malaria parasitemia in patient cohorts to determine potential interactions of malaria and other diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Received May 5, 2007. Accepted for publication June 5, 2007.

Acknowledgments: We thank our field team (Dr. Eddy Segura, Sonia Torres Andrade, and Nahir Chuquipiodo) for assistance; Carlos Pacheco and Flor Pacheco for technical help in Iquitos; and patients from the city of Iquitos and the villages of Varillal and Santo Tomas for their participation.

Financial support: This study was supported by an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene–Ellison Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tropical Medicine (Ajay R. Bharti), National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutional training grant T32A107036-26 (on which Ajay R. Bharti was supported), a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Innovations in Clinical Research Program grant (Joseph M. Vinetz), National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH grant K24AI068903 (Jospeph M. Vinetz), and NIH Fogarty International Center Global Infectious Diseases Training grant 5D43TW007120 (Joseph M. Vinetz).

* Address correspondence to Joseph M. Vinetz, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0741, George Palade Laboratories Room 125, La Jolla, CA 92093-0741. E-mail: jvinetz{at}ucsd.edu

Authors’ addresses: Ajay R. Bharti, Kailash Patra, and Joseph M. Vinetz, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0741, George Palade Laboratories Room 105, La Jolla, CA 92093-0741, E-mails: abharti{at}ucsd.edu, kpatra{at}ucsd.edu, and jvinetz{at}ucsd.edu. Raul Chuquiyauri, Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Morona 448-452, Iquitos, Peru, E-mail: raulharo{at}yahoo.com. Margaret Kosek and Robert H. Gilman, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Room #W5515, Baltimore, MD 21205, E-mails: mkosek{at}jhsph.edu and rgilman{at}jhsph.edu. Alejandro Llanos-Cuentas, Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Avenida Honorio Delgado 430, Urbanización Ingenieria, San Martin de Porres, Lima 31, Peru, E-mail: allanos{at}upch.edu.pe.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.