Dr. Jorge Álvarez – LABORATORIO DE ANÁLISIS: Impacto de las técnicas rápidas en las rutinas de trabajo en laboratorio.
Ponencia presentada durante el Primer Congreso Internacional de Detección Rápida de Legionella celebrado el 26 de Noviembre de 2015 en la Universidad Jaime I de Castellón (www.ilfdcongress.com).
3. Waterborne pathogens
Sampling Transport
Report and Corrective
actions
Laboratory analysis
Major health risk
Waterborne pathogens Wide dispersion
Quality assessment workflow
Representative Stability TimeStress
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4. Gold standards
Strong regulation and legislation.
Used for centuries.
Limits and threshold normalised.
Cheap and easy to perform.Laboratory analysis
Concentration
Culture
Confirmation
Legionella
7-10 daysMycobacteria
28 days
Pseudomonas
2-3 Days
DRAWBACKS
• Poor selectivity and specificity
• Low recovery rate
• Time consuming
• Long time lead
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5. Rapid ID techniques
Rapid ID methods:
Results in less than 24 hours.
Consolidated technologies in research area.
- Biochemistry assays
- Based on biochemical reactions. Bacterial enzymes
catalyse different substrates to reveal a change of
colour.
- Nucleid acids methods
- Based on a specific sequence of DNA. It normally
involves an amplification step. Detection by
fluorescence.
- Immuno related assays.
- Use of specific Antibodies to mark or isolated the
target
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6. Biochemistry assays
• Results in 24 hours
• Based in biochemical reactions combined with selective growth culture.
(e.g. B-galactosidase)
• Viable and cultivable cells
DRAWBACKS
• Results expressed as most probable number (MPN).
• Few species available.
• Limit of detection similar to culture.
• Expensive
• API strips for Biochemical identification.
• Pure cultures
• Low discrimination power for environmental strains.
• Ambiguity
BIOLUMIX
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7. DNA techniques
qPCR
• Results in less than 6 hours.
• Specific set of primers and probe allows to great specificity and sensitivity.
• Dead + Viable cells (including VNCB)
• EMA/PMA treatment Viability qPCR – Viable cells.
• Few commercial kits.
• New regulations
Others
• Microarrays
• FISH
• Isothermal amplification
DRAWBACKS
• Expensive
• High level training requirements
• Inhibitors
• Lack of normalization
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8. Immune-related assays
Results within hours.
Detection of Viable cells.
Automatization
Flow cytometry
Immunomagnetic bead isolation and absorbance
(Legipid)
DRAWBACKS
• Matrix effect
• Expensive equipment
• High qualified technicians
• Difficult interpretation of results
• Specific markers (Ab) hard to find
DRAWBACKS
• Matrix effect
• Medium specificity
• Medium limit of detection
(Improves culture)
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9. Rapid ID techniques
Advantages/Drawbacks:
qPCR Legiped Flow cytometry
Lead time 5-6 hours 1-3 hours 1-3 hours
LOD Low Medium-Low Low
Viable cells PMA (Limited) Yes Yes
Automatization Yes Yes Yes
Technical training Intermediate Easy High
Sensitivity/Precision High/High High/Medium High/Medium
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15. Conclusions
Culture method is obsolete
• Poor sensitivity, specificity and low recovery (high LOD)
qPCR and Legipid are not comparable.
• Different results lead to different corrective actions
• Both have good technical parameters (LOD, sensitivity)
• qPCR detects also dead cells (after disinfection)
• Matrix effects
Currently, no alternative method can overcome limitations by itself
Which one to
trust
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16. Sampling Transport
Report and Corrective
actions
Laboratory analysis
Real time In-situ Monitoring
Data online
Control centre:
Quality assesment
Inmmediate response
Corrective actions
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