Quantitative PCR for the diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded skin sections. Issue 6 (December 2015) - Müller, Norbert
Abstract: The present report describes a real-time PCR-based procedure to reliably determine the quantity of Leishmania amastigotes in relation to the amount of host tissue in histological skin sections from canine and equine cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis. The novel diagnostic Leishmania -PCR has a detection limit of <0.02 amastigotes per μg tissue, which corresponds well to the detection limit of immunohistochemistry and is far beyond that of conventional histology. Our results emphasise the importance of PCR to complement routine histology of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases, particularly in laboratories in which no immunohistochemical assay is available. Highlights: The PCR presented allows quantification of Leishmania in histological skin biopsies. The PCR detects extremely low infection intensity cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis. The PCR is suited to support routine histology to diagnose cutaneous leishmaniasis.