Title Participants Abstract "Detection of Zika virus replication in human semen by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction targeting of antisense ribonucleic acid" "Ralph Huits, Birgit De Smet, Gilda Grard, Kaat Eggermont, Catherine Minto-Bain, Natalie Jess, Isabelle Leparc-Goffart, Denis Malvy, Lieselotte Cnops" "Background. Persistence of Zika virus (ZIKV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) in semen is common after infection.Methods. We designed a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay that targets antisense ZIKV RNA (asRNA) to assess ZIKV replication competence in ZIKV RNA-positive semen samples.Results. We detected ZIKV asRNA in semen of 9 of 19 men (47.4%) diagnosed with ZIKV infection. All asRNA-positive samples had high ZIKV loads (cycle threshold valuesConclusions. The sensitivity of the asRNA assay for detection of ZIKV replication was higher than that of conventional virus isolation methods (47.4% vs 21.1%, P = .032)." "Diagnostic comparison of Baermann funnel, Koga agar plate culture and polymerase chain reaction for detection of human Strongyloides stercoralis infection in Maluku, Indonesia" "Handriani Kristanti, Fransiska Meyanti, Mahardika Agus Wijayanti, Yodi Mahendradhata, Katja Polman, François Chappuis, Jurg Utzinger, Soeren L. Becker, E. Elsa Herdiana Murhandarwati" "Human infection with the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis, which may have a life-threatening course, primarily occurs in tropical settings. Epidemiological data on the occurrence of strongyloidiasis are scarce, and microscopic stool-based detection methods are insensitive. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been developed, yet conflicting results have been reported. Our goal was to determine whether there was diagnostic agreement between an in-house PCR and two microscopic techniques, the Baermann funnel (BM) and the Koga agar plate culture (KAP) for the detection of S. stercoralis in stool samples. Eighty ethanol-fixed stool samples stemming from a cross-sectional survey in Maluku, Indonesia, were purposefully selected for PCR analysis. The final sample size comprised four groups, each with 20 samples: group 1, positive for S. stercoralis on both BM and KAP; group 2, positive only by BM; group 3, positive only by KAP; and group 4, negative on both BM and KAP. A Strongyloides-specific PCR targeting the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was carried out in an Indonesian reference laboratory. The overall agreement between PCR and microscopy was 61% (49/80 samples), being highest in group 1 (15/20, 75%) and lowest in group 3 (9/20, 45%). PCR revealed eight additional S. stercoralis infections in group 4. Future studies should elucidate the 'true' infection status of samples that are negative by PCR, but positive upon microscopy. Taken together, there is a lack of agreement between microscopy and PCR results for the diagnosis of human S. stercoralis infection in Indonesia." "Evaluation of antigen detection tests, microscopy, and polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of malaria in peripheral blood in asymptomatic pregnant women in Nanoro, Burkina Faso" "Eline Kattenberg, Christian M Tahita, Inge A J Versteeg, Halidou Tinto, Maminata Traore Coulibaly, D'Alessandro, Henk D F H Schallig, Petra F Mens" "Rapid diagnostics tests (RDTs) detect malaria specific antigen(s) in the circulation, even when parasites are sequestered in the placenta and not visible by microscopy. However, research on their diagnostic accuracy during pregnancy is limited. Pregnant women (n = 418) were screened for malaria during routine antenatal care by using two RDTs that detect histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) or Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with antibodies that detect dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase or heme-detoxification protein, and compared with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and microscopy for evaluation of their diagnostic accuracy. Prevalence of malaria infection was high (53% by PCR). The RT-PCR and the HRP2 RDT detected most cases of malaria during pregnancy, whereas microscopy, the Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase RDT, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase and heme-detoxification protein antibodies did not detect several low-density infections. Therefore, the HRP2 RDT could be a useful tool in high-transmission areas for diagnosis of malaria in asymptomatic pregnant women." "Stage determination and therapeutic decision in human African trypanosomiasis: value of polymerase chain reaction and immunoglobulin M quantification on the cerebrospinal fluid of sleeping sickness patients in Côte d'Ivoire" "V Jamonneau, P Solano, A. Garcia, Veerle Lejon, N Djé, TW Miézan, P. N'Guessan, G. Cuny, Philippe Büscher" "No Mycobacterium paratuberculosis found in Crohn's disease using the polymerase chain reaction" "JM Dumonceau, A Van Gossum, M Adler, PIERRE-ALAIN FONTEYNE, A Drowart, JP Van Vooren, J Devière, Françoise Portaels" "Polymerase chain reaction applied to biopsies from paucibacillary leprosy" "STEFAAN PATTYN, P Jamet, V Raes" "Virological and polymerase chain reaction studies of HIV-1/HIV-2 dual infection in Côte d'Ivoire" "M Peeters, GM Gershy-Damet, K. Fransen, K Koffi, M Coulibaly, E Delaporte, P. Piot, Guido Van Der Groen" "Specific identification of Mycobacterium leprae by the polymerase chain reaction" "C Hackel, S Houard, Françoise Portaels, A van Elsen, A Herzog, A Bollen" "Acute-phase diagnosis of murine and scrub typhus in Belgian travelers by polymerase chain reaction" "Caroline Theunissen, Lieselotte Cnops, Marjan Van Esbroeck, Ralph Huits, Emmanuel Bottieau" "Detection of multiple Verticillium species in soil using density flotation and real-time polymerase chain reaction" "Jane Debode, Kris Van Poucke, S.C. Franca, Martine Maes, M. Hofte, Kurt Heungens" "Debode, J., Van Poucke, K., Franca, S. C., Maes, M., Hate, M., and Heungens, K. 2011. Detection of multiple Verticillium species in soil using density flotation and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Plant Dis. 95:1571-1580. Wet sieving of soil samples, followed by plating on semi-selective medium and microscopic analysis, is the most commonly used technique to quantify microsclerotia-forming Verticillium species in soil. However, the method is restricted to small samples, does not allow easy differentiation between species, and takes several weeks to complete. This study describes an alternative method to test 100-g soil samples for three Verticillium species (V. tricorpus, V. dahliae, and V. longisporum) using density flotation-based extraction of microsclerotia followed by new real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays. Primers for these real-time PCR assays were designed to the ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer for V in corpus and the P-tubulin gene for V dahliae + V longisporum and V longisporum. Tests with artificially and naturally infested soils showed that the new method is reproducible and sensitive (0.1 to 0.5 microsclerotia/g soil), allows differentiation among the three species, and call be completed in one day. The results of the new method and the wet-sieving method were highly correlated for V tricorpus (R(2) = 0.78), but not for V. dahliaelV. longisporum, probably due to the loss of germinability of V. dahliaelV. longisporum microsclerotia during prolonged dry storage of the soil."