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Arboleda M, Mejía-Torres M, Posada M, Restrepo N, Ríos-Tapias P, Rivera-Pedroza LA, Calle D, Sánchez-Jiménez MM, Marín K, Agudelo-Flórez P. Molecular Diagnosis as an Alternative for Public Health Surveillance of Leptospirosis in Colombia. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2759. [PMID: 38004770 PMCID: PMC10673046 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11112759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Leptospirosis represents a public health problem in Colombia. However, the underreporting of the disease is an unfortunate reality, with a clear trend towards a decrease in cases since 2019, when the guidelines for its confirmatory diagnosis changed with the requirement of two paired samples. The purpose of this review is to highlight the importance of leptospirosis. While the access to rapid diagnosis is available at practically all levels of care for dengue and malaria, leptospirosis-a doubly neglected disease-deserves recognition as a serious public health problem in Colombia. In this manner, it is proposed that molecular tests are a viable diagnostic alternative that can improve the targeted treatment of the patient and the timeliness of data and case reporting to SIVIGILA, and reduce the underreporting of the disease. Taking advantage of the strengthened technological infrastructure derived from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic for molecular diagnosis in Colombia, with a network of 227 laboratories distributed throughout the national territory, with an installed capacity for PCR testing, it is proposed that molecular diagnosis can be used as an alternative for early diagnosis. This would allow case confirmation through the public health network in Colombia, and, together with the microagglutination (MAT) technique, the epidemiological surveillance of this disease in this country would be strengthened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Arboleda
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Mariana Mejía-Torres
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Maritza Posada
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Nicaela Restrepo
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Paola Ríos-Tapias
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Luis Alberto Rivera-Pedroza
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - David Calle
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Miryan M. Sánchez-Jiménez
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
| | - Katerine Marín
- Tropical Medicine Group, Colombian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Sabaneta 055450, Colombia; (M.M.-T.); (M.P.); (N.R.); (P.R.-T.); (L.A.R.-P.); (D.C.); (M.M.S.-J.); (K.M.)
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Fortes-Gabriel E, Guedes MS, Shetty A, Gomes CK, Carreira T, Vieira ML, Esteves L, Mota-Vieira L, Gomes-Solecki M. Enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis: specific IgG3/IgG1 isotyping may further inform diagnosis of acute disease. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2022; 16:e0010241. [PMID: 35196321 PMCID: PMC8901056 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The laborious microscopic agglutination test (MAT) is the gold standard serologic test for laboratory diagnosis of leptospirosis. We developed EIA based serologic assays using recombinant proteins (rLigA, rLigB, rLipL32) and whole-cell extracts from eight Leptospira serovars as antigen and assessed the diagnostic performance of the new assay within each class, against MAT positive (MAT+) human sera panels from Portugal/PT (n = 143) and Angola/AO (n = 100). We found that a combination of recombinant proteins rLigA, rLigB and rLipL32 correctly identified antigen-specific IgG from patients with clinical and laboratory confirmed leptospirosis (MAT+) with 92% sensitivity and ~ 97% specificity (AUC 0.974) in serum from the provinces of Luanda (LDA) and Huambo (HBO) in Angola. A combination of whole cell extracts of L. interrogans sv Copenhageni (LiC), L. kirschneri Mozdok (LkM), L. borgpetersenii Arborea (LbA) and L. biflexa Patoc (LbP) accurately identified patients with clinical and laboratory confirmed leptospirosis (MAT+) with 100% sensitivity and ~ 98% specificity for all provinces of Angola and Portugal (AUC: 0.997 for AO/LDA/HBO, 1.000 for AO/HLA, 0.999 for PT/AZ and 1.000 for PT/LIS). Interestingly, we found that MAT+ IgG+ serum from Angola had a significantly higher presence of IgD and that IgG3/IgG1 isotypes were significantly increased in the MAT+ IgG+ serum from Portugal. Given that IgM/IgD class and IgG3/IgG1 specific isotypes are produced in the earliest course of infection, immunoglobulin G isotyping may be used to inform diagnosis of acute leptospirosis. The speed, ease of use and accuracy of EIA tests make them excellent alternatives to the laborious and expensive MAT for screening acute infection in areas where circulating serovars of pathogenic Leptospira are well defined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elsa Fortes-Gabriel
- Instituto Superior Técnico Militar—Estado Maior General das Forças Armadas Angolanas, Luanda, Angola,Immuno Technologies Inc, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
| | | | - Advait Shetty
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences—University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
| | | | - Teresa Carreira
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical—Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maria Luísa Vieira
- Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical—Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Lisa Esteves
- Molecular Genetics and Pathlogy Unit—Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island—Azores, Portugal
| | - Luísa Mota-Vieira
- Molecular Genetics and Pathlogy Unit—Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada, São Miguel Island—Azores, Portugal,Azores Genetics Research Group—Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Maria Gomes-Solecki
- Immuno Technologies Inc, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences—University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America,* E-mail:
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Chao CC, Zhang Z, Belinskaya T, Chen HW, Ching WM. Leptospirosis and Rickettsial Diseases Sero-Conversion Surveillance Among U.S. Military Personnel in Honduras. Mil Med 2021; 187:802-807. [PMID: 33861353 DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usab120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Leptospirosis and rickettsial diseases are global zoonotic diseases. In severe infection cases, mortality can range from 10% to 30%. Currently most epidemiological data available are based on outbreak investigations and hospital-based studies from endemic countries. The U.S. soldiers at military bases in these countries are highly vulnerable due to the fact that most of them are immunologically naïve to these pathogens. No risk assessment of leptospirosis and rickettsial diseases among U.S. military personnel in Honduras is currently available. This study was aimed at determining the prevalence of leptospirosis and rickettsial diseases in U.S. military personnel deployed to Honduras using serological assays. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cohort of pre- and post-deployment sera from the most recent 1,000 military personnel stationed in Honduras for at least 6 months between 2000 and 2016 was identified for this study. Serum specimens from these eligible subjects were retrieved. All post-deployment serum specimens were screened at a dilution of 1:100 for the presence of IgG antibodies to Leptospira and Rickettsia pathogens. The pre-deployment sera from those individuals with post-deployment IgG antibodies above cutoff (i.e., seropositive) were tested to determine seroconversion. Seroconversion was defined as conversion of an optical density value from below the cutoff (i.e., negative) in a pre-deployed specimen to above the cutoff (i.e., positive) in a post-deployed specimen at a titer of 100. RESULTS The seropositive post-deployment specimens for antibodies against Leptospira (causing leptospirosis), Rickettsia typhi (causing murine typhus [MT]), spotted fever group rickettsioses (SFGR, causing SFG Rickettsia), Orientia tsutsugamushi (causing scrub typhus [ST]), and Coxiella burnetii (causing Q fever [QF]) were 11.6%, 11.3%, 6%, 5.6%, and 8.0%, respectively. The seroconverted rate in those assigned to Honduras from 2000 to 2016 was 7.3%, 1.9%, 3.9%, 4.3%, and 2.7% for leptospirosis, MT, SFGR, ST, and QF, respectively. Among the seroconverted specimens, 27 showed seroconversion of at least two antibodies. These seroconverted individuals accounted for 8.8% (3 out of 34) of the personnel who looked for medical attention during their deployment. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest a leptospirosis seroconversion rate of 7.3%, which is higher than the 0.9% and 3.9% seroconversion in Korea and Japan, respectively. The higher rate of seroconversion indicates potential risk of Leptospira exposure. Additional testing of water samples in the pools and pits around the training sites to locate the infected areas is important to eliminate or reduce future exposure to Leptospira during trainings. The rates of seroconversion for ST, MT, spotted fever Rickettsia, and QF were 4.3%, 1.9%, 3.9%, and 2.7%, respectively, indicating the potential exposure to a variety of rickettsial-related pathogens. Testing of vectors for rickettsial pathogens in the areas could inform effective vector control countermeasures to prevent exposure. Proper precaution and protective measures are needed to better protect military personnel deployed to Honduras.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-Chung Chao
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.,Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Zhiwen Zhang
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.,Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Tatyana Belinskaya
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.,Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Hua-Wei Chen
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.,Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Wei-Mei Ching
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.,Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
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Abstract
The diagnosis of leptospirosis depends on specific laboratory tests because nonspecific and diverse clinical manifestations make clinical diagnosis difficult and it is easily confused with other infectious diseases in the tropics. Suitable laboratory diagnostic tests vary depending on the stage of the disease, requiring the combination of diagnostic tests using appropriate specimens at each disease stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuo Koizumi
- Department of Bacteriology I, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan.
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Rozo M, Schully KL, Philipson C, Fitkariwala A, Nhim D, Som T, Sieng D, Huot B, Dul S, Gregory MJ, Heang V, Vaughn A, Vantha T, Prouty AM, Chao CC, Zhang Z, Belinskaya T, Voegtly LJ, Cer RZ, Bishop-Lilly KA, Duplessis C, Lawler JV, Clark DV. An Observational Study of Sepsis in Takeo Province Cambodia: An in-depth examination of pathogens causing severe infections. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2020; 14:e0008381. [PMID: 32804954 PMCID: PMC7430706 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The world's most consequential pathogens occur in regions with the fewest diagnostic resources, leaving the true burden of these diseases largely under-represented. During a prospective observational study of sepsis in Takeo Province Cambodia, we enrolled 200 patients over an 18-month period. By coupling traditional diagnostic methods such as culture, serology, and PCR to Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and advanced statistical analyses, we successfully identified a pathogenic cause in 46.5% of our cohort. In all, we detected 25 infectious agents in 93 patients, including severe threat pathogens such as Burkholderia pseudomallei and viral pathogens such as Dengue virus. Approximately half of our cohort remained undiagnosed; however, an independent panel of clinical adjudicators determined that 81% of those patients had infectious causes of their hospitalization, further underscoring the difficulty of diagnosing severe infections in resource-limited settings. We garnered greater insight as to the clinical features of severe infection in Cambodia through analysis of a robust set of clinical data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Rozo
- Austere environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- The Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kevin L. Schully
- Austere environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Casandra Philipson
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Department, Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, United States of America
| | | | | | - Tin Som
- Chenda Polyclinic, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Darith Sieng
- Lucerent Clinical Solutions, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Bora Huot
- Chenda Polyclinic, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Sokha Dul
- Chenda Polyclinic, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | | | - Vireak Heang
- U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit TWO (NAMRU-2), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Andrew Vaughn
- U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit TWO (NAMRU-2), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Te Vantha
- Takeo Provincial Referral Hospital, Takeo, Cambodia
| | - Angela M. Prouty
- U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit TWO (NAMRU-2), Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Chien-Chung Chao
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center-Silver Spring, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Zhiwen Zhang
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center-Silver Spring, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Tatyana Belinskaya
- Viral and Rickettsial Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center-Silver Spring, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Logan J. Voegtly
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Department, Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- Leidos, Reston, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Regina Z. Cer
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Department, Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- Leidos, Reston, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Kimberly A. Bishop-Lilly
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Department, Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Fort Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Chris Duplessis
- Austere environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
| | - James V. Lawler
- Austere environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- Global Center for Health Security at Nebraska and Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, United States of America
| | - Danielle V. Clark
- Austere environments Consortium for Enhanced Sepsis Outcomes (ACESO), Biological Defense Research Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center-Frederick, Ft. Detrick, Maryland, United States of America
- The Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
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Abstract
Abstract
Background
Leptospirosis, caused by pathogenic Leptospira spp., is a widespread zoonotic disease worldwide. Early diagnosis is required for proper patient management and reducing leptospirosis morbidity and mortality.
Objective
To summarize current literature regarding commonly used and new promising molecular approaches to Leptospira detection and diagnostic tests of human leptospirosis.
Method
The relevant articles in Leptospira and leptospirosis were retrieved from MEDLINE (PubMed) and Scopus.
Results
Several molecular techniques have been developed for diagnosis of human leptospirosis. Polymerase chain reaction-based techniques targeting on either lipL32 or 16S rRNA (rrs) gene are most commonly used to detect leptospiral DNA in various clinical specimens. Whole blood and urine are recommended specimens for suspected cases in the first (acute) and the second (immune) phases, respectively. Isothermal amplification with less expensive instrument is an alternative DNA detection technique that may be suitable for resource-limited laboratories.
Conclusion
Detection of leptospiral DNA in clinical specimens using molecular techniques enhances sensitivity for diagnosis of leptospirosis. The efficient and robust molecular detection especially in the early leptospiremic phase may prompt early and appropriate treatment leading to reduced morbidity and mortality of patients with leptospirosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teerasit Techawiwattanaboon
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine , Chulalongkorn University , Bangkok 10330 , Thailand
- Chula Vaccine Research Center (Chula VRC), Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development , Chulalongkorn University , Bangkok 10330 , Thailand
| | - Kanitha Patarakul
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine , Chulalongkorn University , Bangkok 10330 , Thailand
- Chula Vaccine Research Center (Chula VRC), Center of Excellence in Vaccine Research and Development , Chulalongkorn University , Bangkok 10330 , Thailand
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