Human papillomavirus type-specific distribution in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cancer in The Gambia prior to HPV immunization programme: a baseline for monitoring the quadrivalent vaccine.

Background: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Gambian women. Current estimates indicate that 286 women are annually diagnosed with cervical cancer with a fatality rate of 70%. In an attempt to address this, in 2019 the quadrivalent HPV vaccine was incorporated into the Gambia's Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

Human papilloma virus genotype distribution and risk factor analysis amongst reproductive-age women in urban Gambia.

Purpose: Cervical cancer is the most frequently diagnosed female cancer in The Gambia, representing approximately 30 % of cases. In 2014, the quadrivalent human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine was introduced, which offers protection against HPV genotypes 6, 11, 16 and 18. To evaluate the potential effectiveness of this vaccine, genotype distribution and risk factor analysis were assessed.

A two-tube combined TaqMan/SYBR Green assay to identify mycobacteria and detect single global lineage-defining polymorphisms in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We have developed a novel real-time PCR assay to identify and perform preliminary genotyping of mycobacteria in a manner tailored to our local service. Within a single thermocycler run, mycobacterial 16S rDNA and the Mycobacterium tuberculosis global lineage-defining RD750 polymorphism are targeted in separate reaction tubes, each of which includes both TaqMan and SYBR Green chemistries. The results of this 16S-RD assay differentiate M.

Identification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae as the causative agent in a case of culture-negative dermatitis-arthritis syndrome using real-time PCR.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an increasingly common and important cause of a fever in a returning traveler. Systemic complications of STIs, human immunodeficiency virus seroconversion illness, and secondary syphilis are diagnoses that can easily be missed. We present a case of culture-negative disseminated gonococcal infection presenting with fever, malaise, polyarthralgia, arthritis, and a rash that developed following orogenital contact and was diagnosed using real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Identification of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. macedonicus as the etiological agent in a case of culture-negative multivalve infective endocarditis by 16S rDNA PCR analysis of resected valvular tissue.

Today, PCR using broad-range primers is being used increasingly to detect pathogens from resected heart valves. Herein is described the first case of multivalve infective endocarditis where 16S rDNA PCR was used to detect a single pathogen from two affected valves in a 61-year-old man. Triple heart valve replacement was required despite six weeks of appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

A consensus on fungal polymerase chain reaction diagnosis?: a United Kingdom-Ireland evaluation of polymerase chain reaction methods for detection of systemic fungal infections.

The limitations of classical diagnostic methods for invasive fungal infections (IFIs) have led to the development of molecular techniques to aid in the detection of IFIs. Despite good published performance, interlaboratory reproduction of these assays is variable, and no consensus has been reached for an optimal method. This publication describes the first multicenter study of polymerase chain reaction methods, for the detection of Aspergillus and Candida species, currently used in the UK and Ireland by distribution and analysis of multiple specimen control panels.