Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesXpert MTB/XDR: a 10-Color Reflex Assay Suitable for Point-of-Care Settings To Detect Isoniazid, Fluoroquinolone, and Second-Line-Injectable-Drug Resistance Directly from Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Positive SputumWe describe the design, development, analytical performance, and a limited clinical evaluation of the 10-color Xpert MTB/XDR assay (CE-IVD only, not for sale in the United States). This assay is intended as a reflex test to detect resistance to isoniazid (INH), fluoroquinolones (FLQ), ethionamide (ETH), and second-line injectable drugs (SLIDs) in unprocessed sputum samples and concentrated sputum sediments which are positive for...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesComparative Analytical Evaluation of Four Centralized Platforms for the Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex and Resistance to Rifampicin and IsoniazidFailure to rapidly identify drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) increases the risk of patient mismanagement, the amplification of drug resistance, and ongoing transmission. We generated comparative analytical data for four automated assays for the detection of TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB): Abbott RealTime MTB and MTB RIF/INH (Abbott), Hain Lifescience FluoroType MTBDR (Hain), BD Max MDR-TB (BD), and Roche cobas MTB and...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesGenSeizer: a Multiplex PCR-Based Targeted Gene Sequencing Platform for Rapid and Accurate Identification of Major Mycobacterium SpeciesMycobacterium tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) infections often exhibit similar clinical symptoms. Timely and effective treatment relies on the rapid and accurate identification of species and resistance genotypes.
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesAssessing Nanopore Sequencing for Clinical Diagnostics: a Comparison of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Methods for Mycobacterium tuberculosisNext-generation sequencing technologies are being rapidly adopted as a tool of choice for diagnostic and outbreak investigation in public health laboratories. However, costs of operation and the need for specialized staff remain major hurdles for laboratories with limited resources for implementing these technologies. This project aimed to assess the feasibility of using Oxford Nanopore MinION whole-genome sequencing data of...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesCharacterization of Genomic Variants Associated with Resistance to Bedaquiline and Delamanid in Naive Mycobacterium tuberculosis Clinical StrainsThe role of mutations in genes associated with phenotypic resistance to bedaquiline (BDQ) and delamanid (DLM) in Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBc) strains is poorly characterized. A clear understanding of the genetic variants’ role is crucial to guide the development of molecular-based drug susceptibility testing (DST). In this work, we analyzed all mutations...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesDNA Thermo-Protection Facilitates Whole-Genome Sequencing of Mycobacteria Direct from Clinical SamplesMycobacterium tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from bacterial infection. Improved rapid diagnosis and antimicrobial resistance determination, such as by whole-genome sequencing, are required. Our aim was to develop a simple, low-cost method of preparing DNA for sequencing direct from M....
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesAn Optimal Diagnostic Strategy for Tuberculosis in Hospitalized HIV-Infected Patients Using GeneXpert MTB/RIF and Alere Determine TB LAM AgThe diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in HIV-infected patients is challenging. Both a urinary lipoarabinomannan (LAM) test (Alere TB LAM) and GeneXpert-MTB/RIF (Xpert) are useful for the diagnosis of TB. However, how to optimally integrate Xpert and LAM tests into clinical practice algorithms remain unclear. We performed a post hoc analysis of 561 HIV-infected sputum-expectorating patients (median CD4 count of 130 cells/ml) from a...
MinireviewFourth-Generation QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus: What Is the Evidence?QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) is the latest generation of interferon gamma release assays (IGRAs) to receive approval from the U.S. FDA, replacing its predecessor, QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT). The novelty of QFT-Plus is that it elicits a response from CD8 T cells, in addition to CD4 T cells, thus collecting a broader response from T-cell subsets than QFT-GIT. It was developed with the aim to improve the detection of...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesValidation of Bedaquiline Phenotypic Drug Susceptibility Testing Methods and Breakpoints: a Multilaboratory, Multicountry StudyDrug-resistant tuberculosis persists as a major public health concern. Alongside efficacious treatments, validated and standardized drug susceptibility testing (DST) is required to improve patient care. This multicountry, multilaboratory external quality assessment (EQA) study aimed to validate the sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility of provisional bedaquiline MIC breakpoints and World Health Organization interim critical...
Mycobacteriology and Aerobic ActinomycetesFast, Simple, and Cheap: the Kudoh-Ogawa Swab Method as an Alternative to the Petroff–Lowenstein-Jensen Method for Culturing of Mycobacterium tuberculosisThe objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of the Kudoh-Ogawa (K-O) swab method for the culturing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from clinical samples with the standard Petroff–Lowenstein-Jensen (P-LJ) procedure. A total of 2,287 sputum samples and 685 extrapulmonary clinical specimens were processed with both decontamination methods and compared...