scholarly journals Sensitivity and Specificity of Serology, Histopathology, and Molecular Tests in the Detection of Leptospirosis from Slaughtered Cattle in Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-561
Author(s):  
Asih Rahayu ◽  
Yos Adi Prakoso ◽  
Kurnia Desiandura ◽  
Yuli Purwandari Kristianingrum

Leptospira spp. is a pathogenic bacteria that causes leptospirosis in humans and cattle. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) as the laboratory gold standard in the detection of leptospirosis. However, the limitation of MAT triggers the laboratory technicians to develop alternative laboratory tests against leptospirosis. The current study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of histopathology special stain using modified Gram staining (MGS) and molecular test using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), compared to the MAT for Leptospira spp. detection in cattle. This study used a total of 38 serum and 38 kidney samples from the cattle slaughtered in the Sidoarjo slaughterhouse, Indonesia. The collected serum samples were tested against MAT and RT-PCR. The kidneys were processed for histopathology using MGS. The result indicated that 16 (42.10%) of the tested samples were positive against MAT, 6 (15.78%) were positive against MGS, and 18 (47.36%) were positive against RT-PCR. The RT-PCR indicated better sensitivity and lower specificity, compared to MAT and MGS. The findings revealed that the RT-PCR is an appropriate laboratory test for detecting cattle leptospirosis with better sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, this method can be suggested to substitute MAT and overcome its limitations.

Author(s):  
Joanne Hiebert ◽  
Vanessa Zubach ◽  
Carmen L. Charlton ◽  
Jayne Fenton ◽  
Graham A. Tipples ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization (WHO) has targeted measles for global eradication through mass immunization. For effective monitoring of eradication targets, high quality surveillance is needed. The detection of IgM antibodies, specific to the measles virus, with the use of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA or EIA) is broadly used within the WHO global measles and rubella laboratory network for laboratory confirmation, and in particular ELISA kits manufactured by Siemens (Enzygnost® kits) have been primarily used. Spurred by the discontinuation of these kits, this study aims to report on the clinical sensitivity and specificity of comparable commercial ELISA kits and one automated chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) method. A panel of 239 serum samples was assembled that included sera from confirmed measles cases (n=50) and probable post-MMR vaccine response (n=2). Measles negative sera (n=187) were collected from individuals presenting with other fever and rash illnesses. A total of 7 ELISA kits were evaluated (Euroimmun native antigens and recombinant nucleoprotein, IBL, Clin-Tech Microimmune, NovaTec NovaLisa®, Serion and Siemens Enzygnost®) and one CLIA method (DiaSorin LIAISON® XL). The ELISA kits included two IgM capture methods and five indirect methods. Calculated sensitivities and specificities ranged from 75.0% to 98.1% and 86.6% to 99.5% respectively. The parvovirus B19 IgM positive sera were noted to cause false positive results particularly for the ELISA kits from Serion and NovaLisa®; specificities for this subset of samples ranged from 51.4% to 100.0%. The capture IgM ELISA methods provided the best combination of sensitivity and specificity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Molla Rahman Shaibur ◽  
Mohammed Sadid Hossain ◽  
Shirina Khatun ◽  
F. K. Sayema Tanzia

AbstractThis study aimed to determine the quality of drinking water supplied in different types of food stalls in Jashore Municipality, Bangladesh. A total of 35 water samples were collected from different tea stalls, street side fast food stalls, normal restaurants and well-furnished restaurants. The water quality was evaluated by determining the distinct physical, chemical and biological parameters. The results revealed that the water used in the food stalls and restaurants for drinking purpose was in desired quality in terms of turbidity, electrical conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids, nitrate (NO3−), sulfate (SO42−), phosphate (PO43−), chloride (Cl−), sodium (Na) and potassium (K) concentrations. The values were within the permissible limit proposed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and the World Health Organization. Concentrations of calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) found in several samples were higher than the World Health Organization standard. Iron (Fe) concentrations were higher than the permissible limit of the World Health Organization. Only 46% exceeded the permissible limit of Bangladesh Bureau Statistics. The threatening result was that the samples were contaminated by fecal coliform, indicating that the people of Jashore Municipality may have a greater chance of being affected by pathogenic bacteria. The drinking water provided in the street side fast food stalls was biologically contaminated. The findings demonstrate that the drinking water used in food stalls and restaurants of Jashore Municipality did not meet up the potable drinking water quality standards and therefore was detrimental to public health.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bartolini ◽  
Margherita Scapaticci ◽  
Marina Bioli ◽  
Tiziana Lazzarotto ◽  
Maria Carla Re ◽  
...  

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Due to the absence of effective treatment or biomedical prevention, understanding potential post infection immunity has important implications for epidemiologic assessments. For this reason, increasing number of in vitro diagnostic companies are developing serological assays to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, but most of them lack the validation by third parties in relation to their quality, limiting their usefulness. We submitted to serological screening by two different immunochromatographic (IC) rapid testing for detection of IgG and IgM against SARS-CoV-2, 151 asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic healthcare workers previously tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR in order to evaluate the performance of rapid assays. Results showed discrepancies between molecular and IC results, and an inconsistency of immunoglobulins positivity patterns when compared to ELISA/CLIA results, highlighting the absolute necessity of assays performance validation before their marketing and use, in order to avoid errors in the results evaluation at both clinical and epidemiological level.


Author(s):  
A. Mohammadi Nia ◽  
A. Alimohammadi ◽  
R. Habibi ◽  
M. R. Shirzadi

The most underdiagnosed water-borne bacterial zoonosis in the world is Leptospirosis which especially impacts tropical and humid regions. According to World Health Organization (WHO), the number of human cases is not known precisely. Available reports showed that worldwide incidences vary from 0.1-1 per 100 000 per year in temperate climates to 10-100 per 100 000 in the humid tropics. Pathogenic bacteria that is spread by the urines of rats is the main reason of water and soil infections. Rice field farmers who are in contact with infected water or soil, contain the most burden of leptospirosis prevalence. In recent years, this zoonotic disease have been occurred in north of Iran endemically. Guilan as the second rice production province (average=750 000 000 Kg, 40% of country production) after Mazandaran, has one of the most rural population (Male=487 679, Female=496 022) and rice workers (47 621 insured workers) among Iran provinces. The main objectives of this study were to analyse yearly spatial distribution and the possible spatial clusters of leptospirosis to better understand epidemiological aspects of them in the province. Survey was performed during the period of 2009–2013 at rural district level throughout the study area. Global clustering methods including the average nearest neighbour distance, Moran’s I and General G indices were utilized to investigate the annual spatial distribution of diseases. At the end, significant spatial clusters have been detected with the objective of informing priority areas for public health planning and resource allocation.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Araujo Oliveira ◽  
Lea Campos de Oliveira ◽  
Franciane Mendes de Oliveira ◽  
Geovana Maria Pereira ◽  
Regina Maia de Souza ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundCOVID-19 disease (Coronavirus disease 2019) caused by SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is widespread worldwide, affecting more than 11 million people globally (July 6th, 2020). Diagnostic techniques have been studied in order to contain the pandemic. Immunochromatographic (IC) assays are feasible and low cost alternative for monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in the population.MethodsHere we evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of eleven different immunochromatographic tests in 98 serum samples from confirmed cases of COVID-19 through RT-PCR and 100 negative serum samples from blood donors collected in February 2019. Considering the endemic situation of Dengue in Brazil, we also evaluated the cross-reactivity with Dengue using 20 serum samples from patients with confirmed diagnosis for Dengue collected in early 2019 through four different tests.ResultsOur results demonstrated agreement between immunochromatographic assays and RT-PCR, especially after 10 days since the onset of symptoms. The evaluation of IgG and IgM antibodies combined demonstrated a strong level of agreement (0.85) of IC assays and RT-PCR. It was observed cross-reactivity between Dengue and COVID-19 using four different IC assays for COVID-19 diagnosis. The specificity of IC assays to detected COVID-19 IgM antibodies using Dengue serum samples varied from 80% to 85%; the specificity of IgG detection was 100% and total antibody was 95%.ConclusionsWe found high sensitivity, specificity and good agreement of IC assays, especially after 10 days onset of symptoms. However, we detected cross-reactivity between Dengue and COVID-19 mainly with IgM antibodies demonstrating the need for better studies about diagnostic techniques for these diseases.HighlightsImmunochromatographic assays demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity and good agreement with the gold-standard RT-PCR;Increase in sensitivity and specificity of assays using samples collected after the 10th day of symptoms;Cross-reaction with Dengue serology in evaluation of IgM.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-An Kung ◽  
Chung-Guei Huang ◽  
Sheng-Yu Huang ◽  
Kuan-Ting Liu ◽  
Peng-Nien Huang ◽  
...  

The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the importance of an international standard (IS) for SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody titer detection, with the aim of calibrating different diagnostic techniques. In this study, IS was applied to calibrate neutralizing antibody titers (IU/mL) and binding antibody titers (BAU/mL) in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Serum samples were collected from participants receiving the Moderna (n = 20) and Pfizer (n = 20) vaccines at three time points: pre-vaccination, after one dose, and after two doses. We obtained geometric mean titers of 1404.16 and 928.75 IU/mL for neutralizing antibodies after two doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, respectively. These values provide an important baseline for vaccine development and the implementation of non-inferiority trials. We also compared three commercially available kits from Roche, Abbott, and MeDiPro for the detection of COVID-19 antibodies based on binding affinity to S1 and/or RBD. Our results demonstrated that antibody titers measured by commercial assays are highly correlated with neutralizing antibody titers calibrated by IS.


2021 ◽  
pp. 2979-2983
Author(s):  
Hamong Suharsono ◽  
Ali Ghufron Mukti ◽  
Ketut Suryana ◽  
I. Wayan Masa Tenaya ◽  
Dilasdita Kartika Pradana ◽  
...  

Background and Aim: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and has spread rapidly globally, resulting in a pandemic. In humans, the main routes of transmission are respiratory droplets and close contact with infected individuals or through contact with an object infected with the virus, followed by touching mouth, nose, or eyes. It is assumed that SARS-CoV-2 was originated in wild animals and was then transmitted to humans. Although some wildlife and domestic animals can be naturally or experimentally infected with the virus, the intermediate hosts that transmitted it to humans are still unknown. Understanding the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 associated with possible zoonotic transmission of intermediate hosts is considered critical. Reportedly, cats or dogs living with COVID-19-positive humans tested positive for the disease, suggesting that the virus was transmitted to the animals from humans. Information regarding the epidemiological investigation and comprehensive studies is limited. Therefore, it is still unclear how high is the correlation of infection in humans and pet animals, especially those living together. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the pets of patients with COVID-19 who were hospitalized at the Wangaya hospital, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Materials and Methods: A total of seven clinically asymptomatic pets (six dogs of different races and sexes and a cat [age, 360-2920 days]) were included in this study. These animals belonged to patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from August to November 2020. Nasal swab and nasopharyngeal samples were collected from the pets individually under anesthetic condition and were collected 6-12 days after confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in owners and hospitalization at the Wangaya Hospital. The swab samples were then processed for RNA isolation and tested using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2, in accordance with the World Health Organization manual 2020. Results: RT-PCR results for all seven RNA samples, prepared from the swab samples, were negative. For the samples, all PCR products were below the threshold limit, suggesting no genetic material belonging to the samples tested. Conclusion: This was the first preliminary study of COVID-19 on pets in pandemic using RT-PCR. The study tested a very limited quantity of samples, and all of them were negative. However, the way in which the samples were prepared was considered appropriate. Therefore, in further studies, testing of more samples of pets of more individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection is required.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniele Baiz ◽  
Caterina Negroni ◽  
Sara Ferluga ◽  
Emanuela Ercolano ◽  
Claire L Adams ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Meningiomas are the most common primary CNS tumors. According to the World Health Organization Classification (WHO), they are classified as benign (grade I), atypical (grade II), and anaplastic/malignant (grade III). Chemotherapy has proven ineffective in treating these tumors, which are primarily managed by surgery, radiotherapy, or a combination of them. Morbidity and mortality correlate with meningioma grade. Currently, risk assessment for treatment is based on the radiological assessment of tumor size, tumor growth rate, and/or clinical progression of symptoms. Methods: We performed a cancer miRNA array in an in vitro model of meningioma in order to identify circulating biomarkers in meningioma patients. We validated the miRNA biomarker candidate in cells and tissues and analyzed its regulation. We then investigated expression in tissues and blood. Results: We identified miR-9-1 as significantly overexpressed in atypical and anaplastic cells compared to benign. We further demonstrated that miR-9-1 overexpression is due to increased levels of FOS via upregulation of the EGFR receptor, and showed that miR-9-1 and FOS are upregulated in a cohort of higher-grade meningioma biopsies. Next, we isolated circulating exosomes from meningioma patients’ serum samples, and found higher levels of miR-9-1 in higher-grade compared to low-grade meningiomas patients. Conclusions: Overall, our study shows overexpression and the mechanism of miR-9-1 regulation and suggests miR-9-1 as a novel circulating biomarker candidate to identify tumor grade in meningioma.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1384
Author(s):  
Michael Zapor

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that emerged in December 2019 as the causative agent of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020 has several distinctive features, including extensive multiorgan involvement with a robust systemic inflammatory response, significant associated morbidity and mortality, and prolonged persistence of viral RNA in the clinical specimens of infected individuals as detected by Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) amplification. This review begins with an overview of SARS-CoV-2 morphology and replication and summarizes what is known to date about the detection of the virus in nasal, oropharyngeal, and fecal specimens of patients who have recovered from COVID-19, with a focus on the factors thought to contribute to prolonged detection. This review also provides a discussion on the infective potential of this material from asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic, and convalescing individuals, to include a discussion of the relative persistence and infectious potential of virus in clinical specimens recovered from pediatric COVID-19 patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 1343
Author(s):  
Vanessa Salgueiro ◽  
Vera Manageiro ◽  
Narcisa M. Bandarra ◽  
Lígia Reis ◽  
Eugénia Ferreira ◽  
...  

In a world where the population continues to increase and the volume of fishing catches stagnates or even falls, the aquaculture sector has great growth potential. This study aimed to contribute to the depth of knowledge of the diversity of bacterial species found in Sparus aurata collected from a fish farm and to understand which profiles of diminished susceptibility to antibiotics would be found in these bacteria that might be disseminated in the environment. One hundred thirty-six bacterial strains were recovered from the S. aurata samples. These strains belonged to Bacillaceae, Bacillales Family XII. Incertae Sedis, Comamonadaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcaceae, Erwiniaceae, Micrococcaceae, Pseudomonadaceae and Staphylococcaceae families. Enterobacter sp. was more frequently found in gills, intestine and skin groups than in muscle groups (p ≤ 0.01). Antibiotic susceptibility tests found that non-susceptibility to phenicols was significantly higher in gills, intestine and skin samples (45%) than in muscle samples (24%) (p ≤ 0.01) and was the most frequently found non-susceptibility in both groups of samples. The group of Enterobacteriaceae from muscles presented less decreased susceptibility to florfenicol (44%) than in the group of gills, intestine and skin samples (76%). We found decreased susceptibilities to β-lactams and glycopeptides in the Bacillaceae family, to quinolones and mupirocin in the Staphylococcaceae family, and mostly to β-lactams, phenicols and quinolones in the Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonadaceae families. Seven Enterobacter spp. and five Pseudomonas spp. strains showed non-susceptibility to ertapenem and meropenem, respectively, which is of concern because they are antibiotics used as a last resort in serious clinical infections. To our knowledge, this is the first description of species Exiguobacterium acetylicum, Klebsiella michiganensis, Lelliottia sp. and Pantoea vagans associated with S. aurata (excluding cases where these bacteria are used as probiotics) and of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance qnrB19-producing Leclercia adecarboxylata strain. The non-synonymous G385T and C402A mutations at parC gene (within quinolone resistance-determining regions) were also identified in a Klebsiella pneumoniae, revealing decreased susceptibility to ciprofloxacin. In this study, we found not only bacteria from the natural microbiota of fish but also pathogenic bacteria associated with fish and humans. Several antibiotics for which decreased susceptibility was found here are integrated into the World Health Organization list of “critically important antimicrobials” and “highly important antimicrobials” for human medicine.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document