부산대학교 도서관

ABSTRACTRelapsing fever (RF) is caused by tick- and louse-borne Borreliaspp., is characterized by recurrent fever, and is often misdiagnosed as malaria. Because of submicroscopic bacteremia, microscopy can be insensitive between febrile bouts. We designed a multiplex quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to distinguish RF Borreliafrom Plasmodium falciparumand P. vivax. The assay specifically (100%) amplified pathogenic RF Borrelia(1 copy/reaction). We then tested blood from participants within a Tanzanian cohort assessed at scheduled intervals and with fever. Among 8,617 blood samples from 2,057 participants surveyed routinely, 7 (0.08%) samples and 7 (0.3%) participants had RF DNA (median, 4.4 × 103copies/ml). Of 382 samples from 310 febrile persons, 15 (3.9%) samples from 13 (4.2%) participants had RF DNA (median, 7.9 × 102copies/ml). Five (1.3%) samples from 4 (1.3%) participants were found to harbor Borreliaby microscopy. We conclude that multiplex qPCR holds promise for improved clinical diagnosis and epidemiologic assessment of RF.