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Jonathan J, Barakabitze AA, Fast CD, Cox C. Machine Learning for Prediction of Tuberculosis Detection: Case Study of Trained African Giant Pouched Rats. Online J Public Health Inform 2024; 16:e50771. [PMID: 38625737 PMCID: PMC11061786 DOI: 10.2196/50771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Technological advancement has led to the growth and rapid increase of tuberculosis (TB) medical data generated from different health care areas, including diagnosis. Prioritizing better adoption and acceptance of innovative diagnostic technology to reduce the spread of TB significantly benefits developing countries. Trained TB-detection rats are used in Tanzania and Ethiopia for operational research to complement other TB diagnostic tools. This technology has increased new TB case detection owing to its speed, cost-effectiveness, and sensitivity. OBJECTIVE During the TB detection process, rats produce vast amounts of data, providing an opportunity to identify interesting patterns that influence TB detection performance. This study aimed to develop models that predict if the rat will hit (indicate the presence of TB within) the sample or not using machine learning (ML) techniques. The goal was to improve the diagnostic accuracy and performance of TB detection involving rats. METHODS APOPO (Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling) Center in Morogoro provided data for this study from 2012 to 2019, and 366,441 observations were used to build predictive models using ML techniques, including decision tree, random forest, naïve Bayes, support vector machine, and k-nearest neighbor, by incorporating a variety of variables, such as the diagnostic results from partner health clinics using methods endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). RESULTS The support vector machine technique yielded the highest accuracy of 83.39% for prediction compared to other ML techniques used. Furthermore, this study found that the inclusion of variables related to whether the sample contained TB or not increased the performance accuracy of the predictive model. CONCLUSIONS The inclusion of variables related to the diagnostic results of TB samples may improve the detection performance of the trained rats. The study results may be of importance to TB-detection rat trainers and TB decision-makers as the results may prompt them to take action to maintain the usefulness of the technology and increase the TB detection performance of trained rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Jonathan
- Department of Informatics and Information Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania
| | - Alcardo Alex Barakabitze
- Department of Informatics and Information Technology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania
| | - Cynthia D Fast
- APOPO Rodent Project, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science, Piscataway, NJ, United States
| | - Christophe Cox
- APOPO Rodent Project, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, United Republic of Tanzania
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Agizew TB, Soka J, Fast CD, Mwimanzi S, Mwesiga G, Edward N, Stephen M, Kondo R, Burny R, Cox C, Beyene N. Increased tuberculosis case detection in Tanzanian children and adults using African giant pouched rats. BMC Infect Dis 2024; 24:401. [PMID: 38622527 PMCID: PMC11017552 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-024-09313-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND African giant pouched rats, trained by Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO), have demonstrated their ability to detect tuberculosis (TB) from sputum. We assessed rat-based case detection and compared the mycobacterium bacillary load (MTB-load) in children versus adults. METHODS From January-December 2022, samples were collected prospectively from 69 Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) facilities' presumed TB patients. Using an average of five rats, APOPO re-evaluated patients with bacteriologically negative (sputum-smear microscopy or Xpert MTB/RIF) results. Rat-positive samples were tested using concentrated smear light-emitting diode microscopy to confirm TB detection before treatment initiation. The rats' identification of pulmonary TB is based on smelling TB-specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in sputum. Using STATA, Chi-square for odds ratio and confidence interval was calculated and evaluated: (1) the yield of rat-based TB detection compared to that of the health facilities; (2) rat-based TB detection in children versus adults; and (3) rats' ability to detect TB across MTB-loads and between children and adults. RESULTS From 35,766 patients, 5.3% (1900/35,766) were smear-positive and 94.7% (33,866/35,766) were smear or Xpert-negatives at DOTS facility. Of those with negative results, 2029 TB cases were detected using rats, contributing to 52% (2029/3929 of total TB identified), which otherwise would have been missed. Compared to DOT facilities, rats were six-fold more likely to detect TB among Acid Fast Bacilli (AFB) 1+/scanty [90% (1829/2029) versus 60% (1139/1900), odds ratio, OR = 6.11, 95% confidence interval, CI: 5.14-7.26]; twice more likely to identify TB cases among children [71% (91/129) versus 51% (1795/3542), OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.59-3.42]; and twice more likely to identify TB cases among children with AFB 1+/scanty than adults with the same MTB-load [5% (86/1703) versus 3% (28/1067), OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.28-3.03]. CONCLUSIONS Rats contributed over half of the TB cases identified in program settings, and children, especially those with a lower MTB-load, were more likely to be diagnosed with TB by rats. The chemical signatures, VOCs, were only available for adults, and further research describing the characteristics of VOCs in children versus adults may pave the way to enhance TB diagnosis in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tefera B Agizew
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Joseph Soka
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Cynthia D Fast
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Stephen Mwimanzi
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Gilbert Mwesiga
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Nashon Edward
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Marygiven Stephen
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Reheme Kondo
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Robert Burny
- APOPO, TB Detection Program, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - Christophe Cox
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Negussie Beyene
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) Tuberculosis Department, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
- Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
- APOPO TB Research Project, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Mwampashi R, Cutright E, Fast CD, Bonfoh B, Kazwala RR, Mathew C. Scent detection of Brucella abortus by African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei). BMC Vet Res 2023; 19:226. [PMID: 37904151 PMCID: PMC10614360 DOI: 10.1186/s12917-023-03786-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Brucellosis is a contagious zoonosis caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. While the disease has been eradicated in most developed countries, it remains endemic in sub-Saharan Africa where access to reliable diagnostics is limited. African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei) have been trained to detect the scent of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to increase case detection in sub-Saharan Africa. Given the similar diagnostic challenges facing brucellosis and tuberculosis, we explored the feasibility of training African giant pouched rats to detect Brucella. RESULTS After 3 months of training, rats reliably identified cultured Brucella, achieving an average sensitivity of 93.56% (SD = 0.650) and specificity of 97.65% (SD = 0.016). Rats readily generalized to novel, younger Brucella cultures that presumably generated a weaker volatile signal and correctly identified at least one out of three fecal samples spiked with Brucella culture during a final test of feasibility. DISCUSSION To our knowledge, these experiments are the first to demonstrate Brucella emits a unique odor profile that scent detection animals can be trained to identify. Importantly, cultured E. coli samples were included throughout training and test to ensure the rats learned to specifically identify Brucella bacteria rather than any bacteria in comparison to bacteria-free culture medium. E. coli controls therefore served a crucial function in determining to what extent Brucella abortus emits a unique odor signature. Further research is needed to determine if a Brucella-specific volatile signature is present within clinical samples. If confirmed, the present results suggest trained rats could serve as a valuable, novel method for the detection of Brucella infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphael Mwampashi
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Ellie Cutright
- APOPO, SUA-APOPO Rodent Project, Tiba Road, PO Box 3078, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Cynthia D Fast
- APOPO, SUA-APOPO Rodent Project, Tiba Road, PO Box 3078, Morogoro, Tanzania.
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium.
- Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science, 152 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
| | - Bassirou Bonfoh
- Swiss Centre for Scientific Research, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
| | - Rudovick R Kazwala
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Coletha Mathew
- College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
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Can animal personalities save human lives? Evidence for repeatable differences in activity and anxiety in African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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Abstract
The current diagnostic abilities for the detection of pediatric tuberculosis are suboptimal. Multiple factors contribute to the under-diagnosis of intrathoracic tuberculosis in children, namely the absence of pathognomonic features of the disease, low bacillary loads in respiratory specimens, challenges in sample collection, and inadequate access to diagnostic tools in high-burden settings. Nonetheless, the 2020s have witnessed encouraging progress in the area of novel diagnostics. Recent WHO-endorsed rapid molecular assays hold promise for use in service decentralization strategies, and new policy recommendations include stools as an alternative, child-friendly specimen for testing with the GeneXpert assay. The pipeline of promising assays in mid/late-stage development is expanding, and novel pediatric candidate biomarkers based on the host immune response are being identified for use in diagnostic and triage tests. For a new test to meet the pediatric target product profiles prioritized by the WHO, it is key that the peculiarities and needs of the hard-to-reach pediatric population are considered in the early planning phases of discovery, validation, and implementation studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pamela Nabeta
- FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Morten Ruhwald
- FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Rinn Song
- Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Abstract
The diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) disease remains a global challenge, and the need for innovative diagnostic approaches is inevitable. Trained African giant pouched rats are the scent TB detection technology for operational research. The adoption of this technology is beneficial to countries with a high TB burden due to its cost-effectiveness and speed than microscopy. However, rats with some factors perform better. Thus, more insights on factors that may affect performance is important to increase rats' TB detection performance. This paper intends to provide understanding on the factors that influence rats TB detection performance using visual analytics approach. Visual analytics provide insight of data through the combination of computational predictive models and interactive visualizations. Three algorithms such as Decision tree, Random Forest and Naive Bayes were used to predict the factors that influence rats TB detection performance. Hence, our study found that age is the most significant factor, and rats of ages between 3.1 to 6 years portrayed potentiality. The algorithms were validated using the same test data to check their prediction accuracy. The accuracy check showed that the random forest outperforms with an accuracy of 78.82% than the two. However, their accuracies difference is small. The study findings may help rats TB trainers, researchers in rats TB and Information systems, and decision makers to improve detection performance. This study recommends further research that incorporates gender factors and a large sample size.
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Bobak CA, Kang L, Workman L, Bateman L, Khan MS, Prins M, May L, Franchina FA, Baard C, Nicol MP, Zar HJ, Hill JE. Breath can discriminate tuberculosis from other lower respiratory illness in children. Sci Rep 2021; 11:2704. [PMID: 33526828 PMCID: PMC7851130 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-80970-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Pediatric tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health crisis. Despite progress, pediatric patients remain difficult to diagnose, with approximately half of all childhood TB patients lacking bacterial confirmation. In this pilot study (n = 31), we identify a 4-compound breathprint and subsequent machine learning model that accurately classifies children with confirmed TB (n = 10) from children with another lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) (n = 10) with a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100% observed across cross validation folds. Importantly, we demonstrate that the breathprint identified an additional nine of eleven patients who had unconfirmed clinical TB and whose symptoms improved while treated for TB. While more work is necessary to validate the utility of using patient breath to diagnose pediatric TB, it shows promise as a triage instrument or paired as part of an aggregate diagnostic scheme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly A. Bobak
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA ,grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA
| | - Lili Kang
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA
| | - Lesley Workman
- grid.415742.10000 0001 2296 3850Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lindy Bateman
- grid.415742.10000 0001 2296 3850Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mohammad S. Khan
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA
| | - Margaretha Prins
- grid.415742.10000 0001 2296 3850Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lloyd May
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA
| | - Flavio A. Franchina
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA ,grid.4861.b0000 0001 0805 7253Molecular Systems, Organic and Biological Analytical Chemistry Group, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
| | - Cynthia Baard
- grid.415742.10000 0001 2296 3850Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Mark P. Nicol
- grid.7836.a0000 0004 1937 1151Division of Medical Microbiology and Institute for Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa ,grid.1012.20000 0004 1936 7910School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Heather J. Zar
- grid.415742.10000 0001 2296 3850Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, MRC Unit on Child and Adolescent Health, University of Cape Town and Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Jane E. Hill
- grid.254880.30000 0001 2179 2404Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA
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Burny R, Manhiça I, de Abreu APM, De Castro SL, Manhique J, Fiebig L, Valverde E. Rapid TB diagnostic service and community action to FIND.TREAT.ALL#EndTB, Maputo, Mozambique, 2013-2018. Public Health Action 2020; 10:4-6. [PMID: 32368516 DOI: 10.5588/pha.19.0037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Finding and treating all tuberculosis (TB) patients is crucial for ending TB. We investigated whether rapid diagnostic turnaround time (TAT) and patient tracking could increase TB treatment initiation in Maputo, Mozambique. Among 3329 TB patients newly diagnosed by the University Eduardo Mondlane-Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling/Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development (APOPO) Laboratory between 2013 and 2018, on average 61% were verifiably linked to care. This proportion increased from 54% (first half 2013) to 79% (second half 2018) after introducing a 24-hour TAT in 2015 and patient tracking conducted by a community-based partner, Associação Kenguelekezé, in 2017. Rapid, well-connected TB diagnostic services can reduce pre-treatment loss to follow-up and support the joint initiative of WHO, Stop TB and Global Fund to 'FIND.TREAT.ALL.#EndTB'.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Burny
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) TB Project, University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - I Manhiça
- National TB Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Maputo, Mozambique
| | | | | | - J Manhique
- Associação Kenguelekezé, Maputo, Mozambique
| | - L Fiebig
- APOPO Training and Research Centre, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.,Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - E Valverde
- Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling (APOPO) TB Project, University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique.,Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.,The Aurum Institute, Maputo, Mozambique
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Fiebig L, Beyene N, Burny R, Fast CD, Cox C, Mgode GF. From pests to tests: training rats to diagnose tuberculosis. Eur Respir J 2020; 55:55/3/1902243. [DOI: 10.1183/13993003.02243-2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Larsen MH, Lacourciere K, Parker TM, Kraigsley A, Achkar JM, Adams LB, Dupnik KM, Hall-Stoodley L, Hartman T, Kanipe C, Kurtz SL, Miller MA, Salvador LCM, Spencer JS, Robinson RT. The Many Hosts of Mycobacteria 8 (MHM8): A conference report. Tuberculosis (Edinb) 2020; 121:101914. [PMID: 32279870 PMCID: PMC7428850 DOI: 10.1016/j.tube.2020.101914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 02/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Mycobacteria are important causes of disease in human and animal hosts. Diseases caused by mycobacteria include leprosy, tuberculosis (TB), nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections and Buruli Ulcer. To better understand and treat mycobacterial disease, clinicians, veterinarians and scientists use a range of discipline-specific approaches to conduct basic and applied research, including conducting epidemiological surveys, patient studies, wildlife sampling, animal models, genetic studies and computational simulations. To foster the exchange of knowledge and collaboration across disciplines, the Many Hosts of Mycobacteria (MHM) conference series brings together clinical, veterinary and basic scientists who are dedicated to advancing mycobacterial disease research. Started in 2007, the MHM series recently held its 8th conference at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NY). Here, we review the diseases discussed at MHM8 and summarize the presentations on research advances in leprosy, NTM and Buruli Ulcer, human and animal TB, mycobacterial disease comorbidities, mycobacterial genetics and 'omics, and animal models. A mouse models workshop, which was held immediately after MHM8, is also summarized. In addition to being a resource for those who were unable to attend MHM8, we anticipate this review will provide a benchmark to gauge the progress of future research concerning mycobacteria and their many hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle H Larsen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Karen Lacourciere
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20892, USA
| | - Tina M Parker
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD 20892, USA
| | - Alison Kraigsley
- Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Jacqueline M Achkar
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA; Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Linda B Adams
- Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Healthcare Systems Bureau, National Hansen's Disease Programs, Baton Rouge, LA, USA
| | - Kathryn M Dupnik
- Center for Global Health, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Luanne Hall-Stoodley
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Travis Hartman
- Center for Global Health, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Carly Kanipe
- Department of Immunobiology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, USA; Bacterial Diseases of Livestock Research Unit, National Animal Disease Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Ames, IA, USA
| | - Sherry L Kurtz
- Laboratory of Mucosal Pathogens and Cellular Immunology, Division of Bacterial, Parasitic and Allergenic Products, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michele A Miller
- DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, South African Medical Research Council Centre for Tuberculosis Research, Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Liliana C M Salvador
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA; Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - John S Spencer
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Mycobacteria Research Laboratories, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Richard T Robinson
- Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Cambau E, Poljak M. Sniffing animals as a diagnostic tool in infectious diseases. Clin Microbiol Infect 2019; 26:431-435. [PMID: 31734357 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmi.2019.10.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Scents and odours characterize some microbes when grown in the laboratory, and experienced clinicians can diagnose patients with some infectious diseases based on their smell. Animal sniffing is an innate behaviour, and animals' olfactory acuity is used for detecting people, weapons, bombs, narcotics and food. OBJECTIVES We briefly summarized current knowledge regarding the use of sniffing animals to diagnose some infectious diseases and the potential use of scent-based diagnostic instruments in microbiology. SOURCES Information was sought through PubMed and extracted from peer-reviewed literature published between January 2000 and September 2019 and from reliable online news. The search terms 'odour', 'scent', 'bacteria', 'diagnostics', 'tuberculosis', 'malaria' and 'volatile compounds' were used. CONTENT Four major areas of using sniffing animals are summarized. Dogs have been used to reliably detect stool associated with toxigenic Clostridioides difficile and for surveillance. Dogs showed high sensitivity and moderate specificity for detecting urinary tract infections in comparison to culture, especially for Escherichia coli. African giant pouched rats showed superiority for diagnosing tuberculosis over microscopy, but inferiority to culture/molecular methods. Several approaches for detecting malaria by analysing host skin odour or exhaled breath have been explored successfully. Some microbial infections produce specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can be analysed by spectrometry, metabolomics or other analytical approaches to replace animal sniffing. IMPLICATIONS The results of sniffing animal studies are fascinating, and animal sniffing can provide intermediate diagnostic solutions for some infectious diseases. Lack of reproducibility, and cost of animal training and housing are major drawbacks for wider implementation of sniffing animals. The ultimate goal is to understand the biological background of this animal ability and to characterize the specific VOCs that animals are recognizing. VOC identification, improvement of odour sampling methods and development of point-of-care instruments could allow implementation of scent-based tests for major human pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Cambau
- AP-HP, Groupe hospitalier Lariboisière - Fernand-Widal, Service de Bactériologie, Paris, France; Université de Paris, INSERM, IAME UMR1137, Paris, France.
| | - M Poljak
- Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Abstract
An odor sensor is a device for detecting target odors within a mixture, used in many fields including medical diagnosis. Electronic noses are networks of olfactory sensors, consisting of a surface whose properties are modified in the presence of odors, coupled with a measurement system. Their olfactory signature is analyzed in comparison with databases. Such portable devices can monitor body odors, e.g. in the breath, so as to reliably diagnose various pathologies at an early stage and non-invasively. It is tempting to use the naturally optimized molecular recognition of odorants and intrinsic sensitivity of the animal olfactory system to detect and discriminate minute amounts of odorants. New bioelectronic hybrid devices or "bioelectronic noses" can be designed by replacing the artificial sensory elements of e-noses by proteins naturally binding odorants, particularly olfactory receptors. As in the animal olfactory system, the detection and discrimination of odorants require a network of olfactory receptors. Prototypes of such miniaturized bioelectronic noses yield promising results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Édith Pajot-Augy
- NeuroBiologie de l'Olfaction, INRA, université Paris-Saclay, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
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Revival of an ancient Greek art: scent detection as diagnostic tool for tuberculosis. Pediatr Res 2018; 84:4-5. [PMID: 29795205 DOI: 10.1038/s41390-018-0015-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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