Fungal Pathogen Detection in TB-Symptomatic Patients in The Gambia

273 sputum samples from adult patients in The Gambia with tuberculosis-like symptoms were analyzed using a multiplex qPCR assay. The assay detected Aspergillus DNA in five samples (1.8%) and Pneumocystis jirovecii DNA in three samples (1.1%), representing the first molecular detection of these fungi in adults in the country. Zackary Salem-Bango developed this accessible molecular platform for fungal surveillance.

Use Cases

• Validate multiplex qPCR assay sensitivity based on the reported detection of ten DNA copies per reaction.
• Analyze co-occurrence of fungal colonization with tuberculosis-like symptoms based on patient symptom data.
• Benchmark fungal pathogen prevalence in a specific population based on the 273 Gambian sputum samples.
• Develop surveillance tools for low-resource settings based on the described molecular platform.

Strengths

• Includes results from 273 sputum samples, providing a concrete sample size.
• Assay demonstrated high sensitivity, detecting as few as ten DNA copies per reaction.
• Specific prevalence rates are reported: Aspergillus (1.8%) and Pneumocystis jirovecii (1.1%).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single-country (The Gambia) study.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

A multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay applied to stored sputum samples.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-24 17:45:11; freshness should be verified.

Geography

The Gambia