Blog

A new interesting article has been published in J Virol Methods. 2019 Jul;269:30-37. doi: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2019.04.010. Epub 2019 Apr 8. and titled:

Development of an RT-LAMP assay for the detection of Lassa viruses in southeast and south-central Nigeria.

Authors of this article are:

Pemba CM, Kurosaki Y, Yoshikawa R, Oloniniyi OK, Urata S, Sueyoshi M, Zadeh VR, Nwafor I, Iroezindu MO, Ajayi NA, Chukwubike CM, Chika-Igwenyi NM, Ndu AC, Nwidi DU, Maehira Y, Unigwe US, Ojide CK, Onwe EO, Yasuda J.

A summary of the article is shown below:

Lassa virus (LASV) causes Lassa fever (LF), a viral hemorrhagic fever endemic in West Africa. LASV strains are clustered into six lineages according to their geographic location. To confirm a diagnosis of LF, a laboratory test is required. Here, a reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay using a portable device for the detection of LASV in southeast and south-central Nigeria using three primer sets specific for strains clustered in lineage II was developed. The assay detected in vitro transcribed LASV RNAs within 23 min and was further evaluated for detection in 73 plasma collected from suspected LF patients admitted into two health settings in southern Nigeria. The clinical evaluation using the conventional RT-PCR as the reference test revealed a sensitivity of 50% in general with 100% for samples with a viral titer of 9500 genome equivalent copies (geq)/mL and higher. The detection limit was estimated to be 4214 geq/mL. The assay showed 98% specificity with no cross-reactivity to other viruses which cause similar symptoms. These results suggest that this RT-LAMP assay is a useful molecular diagnostic test for LF during the acute phase, contributing to early patient management, while using a convenient device for field deployment and in resource-poor settings.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Check out the article’s website on Pubmed for more information:

This article is a good source of information and a good way to become familiar with topics such as: Lassa virus;Molecular diagnosis;Nigeria;RT-LAMP.

New Chemicals from MOLECULAR DEPOT


New Proteins from MOLECULAR DEPOT


New Antibodies from MOLECULAR DEPOT


New Research Kits from MOLECULAR DEPOT