Table 1.
Analysis of qPCR, conducted in a blinded manner to detect the presence of B. microti DNA and comparison with Babesia FISH, IFA and microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thin blood smear
| qPCR Results from 3 repeats (No. of Samples)# | IFA | Babesia FISH | Microscopy of Giemsa-Stained blood smear | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Negative | NT | Positive | Negative | NT | Positive/± | Negative | NT | |
| +/+/+ (3) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| +/+/- (65) | 7/1± | 19 | 38 | 7 | 5 | 53 | 8/1 ± a | 4 | 52 |
| +/-/- (24) | 0 | 2 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| -/-/- (100) | 1 | 40 | 59 | 1 | 13 | 86 | 0 | 7 | 93 |
#Each plus or minus sign indicates the results from one qPCR assay. Patient samples were considered positive or negative by qPCR based upon comparison with the standard curve in Fig. 2b
aMicroscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears provided uncertain results for Babesia presence. IFA ± indicates only some of the parasites showed fluorescence
NT-Not Tested. NT samples were considered negative for diagnosis of babesiosis by physicians based upon symptomatology and also for statistical analyses in this study