ABSTRACT
The performance of the immunochromatographic assay, SD BIOLINE TB Ag MPT64 RAPID®, was evaluated in Madagascar. Using mouse anti-MPT64 monoclonal antibodies for rapid discrimination between the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and nontuberculous mycobacteria, the kit was tested on mycobacteria and other pathogens using conventional methods as the gold standard. The results presented here indicate that this kit has excellent sensitivity (100 percent) and specificity (100 percent) compared to standard biochemical detection and can be easily used for the rapid identification of M. tuberculosis complex.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Mice , Bacterial Typing Techniques/methods , Chromatography, Affinity , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/isolation & purification , Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/isolation & purification , Tuberculosis/microbiology , Antibodies, Monoclonal , Madagascar , Mycobacterium tuberculosis/classification , Nontuberculous Mycobacteria/classification , Sensitivity and Specificity , Tuberculosis/diagnosisABSTRACT
This is the first study describing the genetic polymorphism of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in the Indian Ocean Region. Using IS6110 RFLP analysis, 475 M. tuberculosis isolates from Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Mozambique and La Reunion were compared. Of the 332 IS6110 profiles found, 43 were shared by clusters containing 2-65 strains. Six clusters were common to at least two countries. Of 52 families of strains with similar IS6110 profiles, 10 were common to at least two countries. Interestingly, another characteristic was the frequency (16.8 percent) of IS6110 single-copy strains. These strains could be distinguished using the DR marker. This preliminary evaluation suggests genetic similarity between the strains of the Indian Ocean Region. However, additional markers would be useful for epidemiological studies and to assess the ancient transmission of strains between countries of this region.