Dried blood spots for qPCR diagnosis of acute Bartonella bacilliformis infection

Abstract

Bartonella bacilliformis is the etiological agent of a life-threatening illness. Thin blood smear is the most common diagnostic Method: for acute infection in endemic areas of Peru but remains of limited value because of low sensitivity. The aim of this study was to adapt a B. bacilliformis-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for use with dried blood spots (DBS) as a sampling Method: and assess its performance and use for the diagnosis and surveillance of acute Bartonella infection. Only two of 65 children (3%) that participated in this study had positive blood smears for B. bacilliformis, whereas 16 (including these two) were positive by PCR performed on DBS samples (24.6%). The use of DBS in combination with B. bacilliformis-specific PCR could be a useful tool for public health in identifying and monitoring outbreaks of infection and designing control programs to reduce the burden of this life-threatening illness.