Advocating the Use of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay to Improve the Rates of Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Resource-constraint Settings

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to remain one of the top infectious diseases on a global scale. Acknowledging the gains observed, specific targets have been set as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals, and global leaders are hoping for significant improvement by 2030. In order to achieve this goal, an end TB strategy has been proposed, and great emphasis has been given toward enhancing case detection. Realizing the need, the World Health Organization (WHO) has given more attention toward the development and evaluation of new diagnostic tools and drug susceptibility testing. A molecular assay based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has been developed to promote the detection of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb) TB complex. This test can be easily performed at a peripheral level, requires minimal laboratory infrastructure and limited biosafety standards, is easy to use, and results are available in <1 hour. To conclude, there is an indispensable need to adopt newer methods to strengthen the diagnostic aspect of the disease. This need becomes even more important in resource-poor settings, and hence it is of utmost importance to implement cost-effective diagnostic tools to promote early detection and prompt initiation of treatment.

Keywords

• loop-mediated isothermal amplification
• tuberculosis
• world health organization