Brief Report

Performance of TaqMan probes for the detection of sexually transmitted infections in South African women

Nireshni Mitchev, Ravesh Singh, Nigel Garrett, Veron Ramsuran, Abraham J. Niehaus, Koleka P. Mlisana
African Journal of Laboratory Medicine | Vol 10, No 1 | a1124 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ajlm.v10i1.1124 | © 2021 Nireshni Mitchev, Ravesh Singh, Nigel Garrett, Veron Ramsuran, Abraham J. Niehaus, Koleka P. Mlisana | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 07 November 2019 | Published: 31 March 2021

About the author(s)

Nireshni Mitchev, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Ravesh Singh, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; and Department of Medical Microbiology, National Health Laboratory Service, Durban, South Africa
Nigel Garrett, Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, Durban, South Africa; and Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Veron Ramsuran, KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
Abraham J. Niehaus, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; and Department of Medical Microbiology, National Health Laboratory Service, Durban, South Africa
Koleka P. Mlisana, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; and Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, Durban, South Africa; and Department of Academic Affairs, Research and Quality Assurance, National Health Laboratory Service, Durban,, South Africa

Abstract

Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis and Mycoplasma genitalium are the four main aetiologies of sexually transmitted infections responsible for vaginal discharge syndrome (VDS). Commercially available multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays are expensive and generally not customisable. We evaluated a highly customisable singleplex PCR approach by testing it in parallel with the Anyplex™ II STI-7 detection assay in a cohort of South African women that presented with VDS between May 2016 and January 2017. Our multiple singleplex PCR strategy proved to be a simple, accurate, rapid, affordable and scalable option for diagnosing VDS.

Keywords

sexually transmitted infections; vaginal discharge syndrome; molecular diagnostics; validation; TaqMan.

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