Publications by authors named "Isra Cruz"
Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of Buruli ulcer is critical in order to avoid the debilitating effects of the disease. In this regard, the development of new diagnostic and point of care tools is encouraged. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification for the detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans represents one of the new tools with a good potential of being developed into a point of care test.
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- Asymptomatic Leishmania infections are prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, highlighting the need for effective diagnostics to support the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) elimination efforts.
- A study conducted in endemic areas of Bangladesh tested 720 individuals using various diagnostic methods, finding that 9.6% had asymptomatic infections, with poor agreement among the tests used.
- The Leishmania antigen ELISA showed potential for detecting asymptomatic infections in urine samples, suggesting it could be a valuable tool for monitoring and surveillance in VL elimination campaigns if developed into a rapid diagnostic test.
Background: To expedite the development of new oral treatment regimens for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), there is a need for early markers to evaluate treatment response and predict long-term outcomes.
Methods: Data from 3 clinical trials were combined in this study, in which Eastern African VL patients received various antileishmanial therapies. Leishmania kinetoplast DNA was quantified in whole blood with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) before, during, and up to 6 months after treatment.