Innovative DNA Test Aids Early Detection of Chagas Disease

A new study has recently revealed a new test to find Chagas disease in babies. They used a special machine to remove DNA from the baby’s body. They also used loop-mediated isothermal molecular amplification (LAMP) to make more of the disease’s DNA. Chagas disease can be passed from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy. Detecting the parasite in women and newborns is very important. But there is a lack of simple and reliable tests. This increases the risk of delayed treatment for children. But this new test is very helpful for early detection and effective treatment. 

This study was recently published in the journal The Lancet Microbe. In this study researchers involved 224 babies born to T. cruzi seropositive mothers. Then researchers tracked them for eight months. They tested this new diagnostic test that combines LAMP with a modified 3D printer. Researchers removed DNA from blood sample of babies. Then they compared the results with PCR and other standard diagnostic methods such as microscopy and serology. 

When researchers observed the collected data, they found 23 cases of congenital transmission. 9 of these cases were detected by microscopy at birth and 14 by serology eight months later. LAMP detected 13 cases early. On the other hand, PCR detected 14 cases.  

One of the researchers said that this clearly shows that PrintrLab-LAMP is more sensitive than microscopy and almost as sensitive as PCR. The benefit is that PrintrLab is cheaper than PCR and doesn’t need much infrastructure. Hence this method is more helpful as compared to current methods.  

Chagas disease needs proper treatment and more attention. Hence it is very important to detect and treat this disease earlier. There is a need for further research to make some effective strategies. This method can effectively reduce the risk of congenital chagas disease and save many lives.