Evaluation of the BioFire® FilmArray® Meningitis/Encephalitis panel in an adult and pediatric Ugandan population.

Background: Meningitis causes significant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and limited diagnostics exist. We evaluated the utility of the BioFire® FilmArray® Meningitis/Encephalitis multiplex PCR panel (BioFire ME) in HIV-infected adults and HIV-infected and uninfected children presenting with suspected meningitis in Uganda.

Methods: We tested cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a stepwise meningitis diagnostic algorithm including BioFire ME.