Molecular Diagnosis as an Alternative for Public Health Surveillance of Leptospirosis in Colombia.

Leptospirosis represents a public health problem in Colombia. However, the underreporting of the disease is an unfortunate reality, with a clear trend towards a decrease in cases since 2019, when the guidelines for its confirmatory diagnosis changed with the requirement of two paired samples. The purpose of this review is to highlight the importance of leptospirosis.

Performance of a highly sensitive rapid diagnostic test (HS-RDT) for detecting malaria in peripheral and placental blood samples from pregnant women in Colombia.

Background: Pregnancy poses specific challenges for the diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum infection due to parasite sequestration in the placenta, which translates in low circulation levels in peripheral blood. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of a new highly sensitive rapid diagnostic test (HS-RDT) for the detection of malaria in peripheral and placental blood samples from pregnant women in Colombia.

Methods: This is a retrospective study using 737 peripheral and placental specimens collected from pregnant women in Colombian malaria-endemic regions.

Diagnostic accuracy of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for screening malaria in peripheral and placental blood samples from pregnant women in Colombia.

Background: Pregnant women frequently show low-density Plasmodium infections that require more sensitive methods for accurate diagnosis and early treatment of malaria. This is particularly relevant in low-malaria transmission areas, where intermittent preventive treatment is not recommended. Molecular methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are highly sensitive, but require sophisticated equipment and advanced training.

Propeller Alleles, Polymorphism, and Drug Effectiveness at Day 3 after Artemether-Lumefantrine Treatment for Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in Colombia, 2014-2015.

High treatment failure rates for malaria have been reported in Colombia for chloroquine, amodiaquine, and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Artemisinin combination therapies were introduced in 2006 in Colombia, where artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is currently used to treat uncomplicated malaria. Artemisinin (ART) resistance was initially observed in Southeast Asia as an increased parasite clearance time, manifesting as a positive thick-blood smear on day 3 after treatment (D3 positivity).