Molecular diagnosis of malaria: standardization of quantitative methods based on loop -mediated isothermal amplification

• Grant number: 16/03221-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2016
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Parasitology - Protozoology of Parasites
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
• Grantee: Lais Camoese Salla
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Malaria affects circa 214 million people annually and Brazil is the country with the highest incidence in America, with approximately 143.000 new cases reported, according to the World Health Organization. Of these cases, infection by Plasmodium vivax has the highest prevalence, followed by P. falciparum and rare cases of P. malariae. The diagnosis in endemic areas in Brazil relies on microscopy, which requires specific training and is difficult to perform in low transmission areas and in asymptomatic patients. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) technique is effective in detecting low parasitaemia from small amounts of blood, easy to reproduce, doesn't require complex techniques and it's able for use in fieldwork, requiring simple equipment. In this study, we aimed to standardize the LAMP technique using nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and to quantify the parasitaemia in real time, comparing the results to the current diagnosis in terms of sensitivity and specificity. (AU)