Content area
Acute febrile syndrome is a frequent reason for medical consultations in tropical and subtropical countries where the cause could have an infectious origin. Malaria and dengue are the primary etiologies in Colombia. As such, constant epidemiological surveillance and new diagnostic tools are required to identify the causative agents. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the circulation and differential diagnosis of six pathogens in two regions of Colombia. The results obtained via multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction combined with a microwell hybridization assay (m-RT-PCR-ELISA) were comparable to those obtained using rapid tests conducted at the time of patient enrollment. Of 155 patients evaluated, 25 (16.1%) and 16 (10.3%) were positive for malaria and dengue, respectively; no samples were positive for any of the other infectious agents tested. In most cases, m-RT-PCR-ELISA confirmed the results previously obtained through rapid testing.
Details
; Koliopoulos, Philip 2 ; Daniel, Tim 2 ; Velez, Gabriel 4
; Londono-Renteria, Berlin 5
; Gröndahl, Britta 2 ; Tobon-Castano, Alberto 4 ; Gehring, Stephan 2 1 Center of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center, 55131 Mainz, Germany;
2 Center of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, University Medical Center, 55131 Mainz, Germany;
3 Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA;
4 Malaria Group, Lab 610, Faculty of Medicine, University of Antioquia, Medellin 050010, Colombia;
5 School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA;