Over the past 10 years, the status of human infection with guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been difficult to ascertain. It is unclear if indigenous cases are occurring an...
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Over the past 10 years, the status of human infection with guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) in the Central African Republic (CAR) has been difficult to ascertain. It is unclear if indigenous cases are occurring and whether cases are migrating into the CAR from surrounding countries. A team of investigators visited the CAR in July-August 2000, to attempt to ascertain the presence of indigenous transmission. No cases of true guinea-worm infection (i.e. dracunculiasis) were detected, but three cases of human infection with Onchocerca volvulus, each of which had been misidentified as dracunculiasis, were detected. The unusual presentation of skin blisters and extraction of an intact female O. volvulus are described. As a result of this investigation, and the confusion of onchocerciasis being misidentified as dracunculiasis, the presence of endemic transmission of guinea worm in the CAR remains in question.
A novel method for the detection and typing of human papillomavirus (HPV) was developed using molecular beacon primers. The method is based on the use of HPV-specific primers containing a hairpin loop structure in whi...
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A novel method for the detection and typing of human papillomavirus (HPV) was developed using molecular beacon primers. The method is based on the use of HPV-specific primers containing a hairpin loop structure in which fluorescent donor and quencher groups are held in close proximity such that fluorescence is quenched. Amplification of the target sequence results in the opening of the loop and the resulting fluorescence can be detected on a sequence detector system (SDS) 7700 (Applied Biosystems), as used for TaqMan(TM) assays. Fluorescent amplicons were identified on the SDS 7700 and then typed by a single hybridisation with specific probes immobilised in lines on a nylon membrane and detected on a fluorescent scanner. This novel beacon primer method compared well with conventional PCR for cervical scrape specimens. The combination of the beacon primer method and reverse line blotting should enable large-scale population studies of HPV infection. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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