Leptospirosis is a worldwide sanitary problem. Its clinical signs resemble that of other diseases like Dengue and Flu, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. Currently available diagnostic methods shown low sensitivity and specificity. Efforts have been made to develop simpler, faster and more efficient diagnostic methods. The aim of this work was to evaluate and optimize a Nested-PCR method for diagnosis of leptospirosis. Primers were designed to amplify a 264 bp region within the LipL32 gene. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay was evaluated using seven saprophytic serovars and 35 pathogenic serovars. This technique showed to be very specific for pathogenic serovars, however it lacked sensitivity. In order to enhance the sensitivity, another primer pair was designed which amplify a 183 bp region within the 264 bp region in lipL32 gene, and used in a Nested-PCR assay. This approach was much more sensitive than traditional PCR.
Leptospirosis; PCR
