Handley, Becca L; González-Beiras, Camila; Tchatchouang, Serges; Hugues, Kouadio Aboh; Basing, Laud Antony; Sylla, Aboubacar; Kouamé-Sina, Mireille S; Amanor, Ivy; Ndzomo, Philippe; Aloumba, Axel; +22 more... Bakheit, Mohammed; Müller, Claudia; Borst, Nadine; Landmann, Emelie; Gmoser, Helena; Härpfer, Tamara; Becherer, Lisa; Lüert, Simone; Frischmann, Sieghard; Burl, Sarah; Tabah, Earnest Njih; Crucitti, Tania; Kouadio, Adingra Tano; Arhinful, Daniel Kojo; Awondo, Patrick; Kakou, Solange Ngazoa; Eyangoh, Sara; Addo, Kennedy Kwasi; Knauf, Sascha; Mitjà, Oriol; Harding-Esch, Emma Michèle; Marks, Michael; (2024) A loop-mediated isothermal amplification test for yaws: a multi-country diagnostic accuracy evaluation. The Lancet Global health, 12 (11). e1891-e1898. ISSN 2214-109X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00324-3
Permanent Identifier
Use this Digital Object Identifier when citing or linking to this resource.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: To meet the WHO target of eradicating yaws by 2030, highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tools are needed. A multiplex Treponema pallidum-Haemophilus ducreyi loop-mediated isothermal amplification (TPHD-LAMP) test holds promise as a near-patient diagnostic tool for yaws and H ducreyi. We conducted a prospective evaluation in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and the Republic of the Congo to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the TPHD-LAMP test, as well as to assess its acceptability, feasibility, and cost. METHODS: Active case searching within schools and communities was used to locate participants with clinically suspicious laws-like lesions. Individuals with serologically confirmed active yaws provided paired lesion swabs between March, 2021, and April, 2023. For each participant, one swab was tested with the TPHD-LAMP at a local district laboratory and the other with reference quantitative PCR (qPCR) tests conducted at national reference laboratories. The primary outcome was TPHD-LAMP test sensitivity and specificity compared with qPCR. Laboratory technicians were interviewed using a multiple-choice survey to gauge acceptability and feasibility of the TPHD-LAMP test. Costs of each test were calculated. FINDINGS: Of 3085 individuals with at least one suspected yaws lesion, 531 (17%) were serologically confirmed. We enrolled 493 participants with seropositive yaws and a further 32 with negative serology. The sensitivity of the TPHD-LAMP test for detecting T pallidum was 63% (95% CI 56-70) and the specificity was 66% (95% CI 61-71). Sensitivity and specificity for T pallidum improved to 73% (63-82; p=0·0065) and 75% (68-80; p=0·0003), respectively, in H ducreyi-negative samples. Interviews highlighted challenges in user-friendliness and practicality of the TPHD-LAMP test. The cost of the test per sample was one third of that of qPCR, although the TPHD-LAMP test entailed higher costs to establish the assay. INTERPRETATION: This was the first multi-country diagnostic evaluation of a molecular test for yaws. The TPHD-LAMP testing, in its current form, falls short of the WHO target product profile criteria for yaws diagnostics. These findings highlight the importance of assessing new diagnostics in real-world conditions to ensure their suitability for programmatic use. FUNDING: The EDCTP2 programme supported by the EU.
Item Type | Article |
---|---|
Faculty and Department | Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Diseases > Dept of Clinical Research |
PubMed ID | 39424576 |
Elements ID | 230714 |
Official URL | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s2214-109x(24)00324-3 |
Download
Filename: Handley-etal-2024-A-loop-mediated-isothermal-amplification-test-for-yaws.pdf
Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
Download