Mainstream serotype testing methods for Leptospira, the causative organism of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease, are costly and laborious. Current methods require organisms to be grown in culture media, a tedious process that prevents researchers from being able to study the organism prospectively or in outbreak studies. Scientists and clinicians have long needed a culture-independent means of identifying and distinguishing among different serovars (serotypes) of Leptospira.
Researchers from Yale School of Medicine and University of California, San Diego led by Michael Matthias, PhD, senior research scientist (infectious diseases), developed RAgI, a qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction, a tool for analyzing DNA) assay with improved sensitivity compared to previously developed qPCR tests. The test represents the first qPCR-based diagnostic test for human leptospirosis, a promising advancement for scientists and clinicians working to understand and treat the disease.
Read more in “Culture-Independent Detection and Identification of Leptospira Serovars.”