TaqMan Array Card testing of participant-collected stool smears to determine the pathogen-specific epidemiology of travellers’ diarrhoea

作者：Michele Tisdale, David R. Tribble, Indrani Mitra, Kalyani Telu, Huai‐Ching Kuo, Jamie Fraser, Jie Liu, Eric R. Houpt, Mark S. Riddle, Drake H. Tilley, Anjali Kunz, Heather C. Yun, Charla Geist, Tahaniyat Lalani · 发表于：Journal of Travel Medicine · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1093/jtm/taab138 · 被引用次数：17 · 研究领域：Travel-related health issues、Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology、Escherichia coli research studies

BACKGROUND: We assessed the compliance with self-collection of stool smears on Whatman® FTA® Elute Card (FTA Card) and detection of travellers' diarrhoea (TD)-associated pathogens by using a quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay [customized TaqMan® array card (TAC)] in a prospective, observational cohort of travellers. METHODS: Enrolled travellers documented symptoms on a travel diary and collected an FTA Card during a diarrhoeal episode, or at the end of travel if they remained asymptomatic. TAC testing was performed on FTA Cards from TD cases and 1:1 matched asymptomatic controls and 1:1 matched loose stool cases that did not meet TD criteria. Odds ratios were used to determine the association between detected pathogens and TD. RESULTS: Of 2456 travellers, 484 (19.7%) completed an illness diary and met TD criteria, and 257 (53.1%) collected an FTA Card during the TD episode. FTA Cards were stored for a median of 2 years at room temperature (IQR: 1-4 years) before extraction and testing. The overall TAC detection rate in TD cases was 58.8% (95% CI: 52.5-64.8). Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen in TD cases (26.8%), and 3.5% of samples were positive for norovirus. The odds of detecting TD-associated pathogens in 231 matched cases and asymptomatic controls were 5.4 (95% CI: 3.6-8.1) and 2.0 (95% CI: 1.1-3.7) in 121 matched TD and loose stool cases (P < 0.05). Enteroaggregative E. coli was the most common pathogen detected in asymptomatic...