Rapid detector for Chlamydia trachomatis developed

A paper recently published in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes a novel diagnostic test to diagnose Chlamydia trachomatis.

A group of scientists, from the University of Tartu (Tartu, Estonia), has developed a sensitive and rapid assay for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis.

C. trachomatis is the most common sexually transmitted pathogen in humans, which affects 5–10% of the population. Currently, point-of-care tests for the detection of the infection are not sensitive enough for large-scale application, with sensitivities of only 10–40%.

The developed assay detects C. trachomatis in urine samples using recombinase polymerase amplification, which is a nucleic acid amplification technique. The test does not require DNA purification before the amplification reaction, therefore, reducing the assay turnaround time to 20 minutes and eliminating the need for specialist equipment.

The team tested their assay on urine samples from 70 patients, from a sexual health clinic in Estonia. Results from the samples were promising, as the assay had 100% specificity and sensitivity of 83%.

Ülo Langel, a researcher on the study commented, “The assay enables highly specific C. trachomatis detection with sensitivity levels significantly improved compared to currently available C. trachomatis point-of-care assays.” Langel went on to explain, “The alarmingly poor performance of the available point-of-care tests for C. trachomatis has limited their wider use and there is a clear requirement for more sensitive and cost-effective diagnostic platforms. Hence, the need for an applicable on-site test that offers reasonably sensitive detection.”

Source: Krõlov K, Frolova J, Tudoran O et al. Sensitive and rapid detection of chlamydia trachomatis by recombinase polymerase amplification directly from urine samples. J. Mol. Diagn. 16(1), 127–135 (2014); New diagnostic test can detect Chlamydia trachomatis in less than 20 minutes.