Funding outcome

Bacterial pathogens in the gut remain an important cause of child mortality. Due to their underdeveloped immune systems, newborn and young children can get sick easily. Fortunately, they can respond quickly to appropriate treatment in a timely manner. Therefore, the need for a rapid diagnostic method has catalyzed a shift from laborious and time-consuming conventional culture methods to multiplex molecular panels targeting multiple different pathogens within hours. The Luminex xTAG Gastrointestinal Pathogen Panel (GPP) can simultaneously identify nine different bacterial targets, including some important enteric pathogens such as Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli including O157 and non O157, Campylobacter, Shigella. However, this particular panel has a potential major drawback for generating false-positives and false- negative results for the Salmonella target as shown in one recent publication. This type of data can have great impact leading to inappropriate treatment which can have devastating effects on young children. My project's purpose is to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the Luminex xTAG GPP (PCR) assay on stools collected by the Alberta Provincial Pediatric EnTeric Infection Team (APPETITE). A standard curve based on the bacterial cell number and crossing point of our in- house quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) will be determined. We will include samples with discordant results (Luminex positive and culture negative) and concordant results (Luminex positive and culture positive) in our study. The results generated will reveal approximately the bacteria number present in the patient's stools. This study could help to identify the potential limitations of multiplex molecular panels in accurately identifying bacteria in children experiencing diarrhea. It is paramount that diagnostic laboratories are made aware of these limitations.