Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for paratyphoid fever – a proof-of-principle analysis

In‐house loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) procedures for the detection of paratyphoid fever associated bacteria on serovar level were evaluated. Therefore, LAMP primers for Salmonella genus, for two LAMP schemes for S. Paratyphi A, for S. Paratyphi B and for S. Paratyphi C were tested with DNA from culture isolates from strain collections and spiked blood cultures against published PCR protocols targeting the same microorganisms. Sensitivity and specificity for DNA from culture isolates verified by LAMP ranged from 80.0% to 100.0% and 96.1% to 100.0% versus 65% to 100% and 98.7% to 100% for the PCR approaches. For the spiked blood culture materials, sensitivity and specificity for LAMP ranged from 87.5% to 100.0% and 96.7% to 100.0% versus from 60% to 100% and 98.2% to 100% for PCR. In conclusion, LAMP for paratyphoid fever shows comparable performance characteristics as PCR. Due to its easy application, the procedure is well suited for surveillance purposes in resource‐limited settings.