Evaluation of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), PCR and parasitological tests for detection of Trypanosoma evansi in experimentally infected pigs.

Six surra negative piglets (6-week-old) were infected with Trypanosoma evansi and two uninfected piglets were used as negative controls. Detection performances of various diagnostic tests (LAMP, PCR and parasitological tests) were compared by analysing blood samples collected weekly over a period of 11 weeks. With a two by two analysis without a gold standard, all methods were 100% specific. MI had the highest sensitivity of 65%, while LAMP, PCR, MHCT and TBS had sensitivities of 45, 33, 38 and 24%, respectively. However, when the analysis was done using MI as a gold standard, the sensitivity of MHCT was the highest at 53% followed by LAMP, PCR and TBS at 49, 44 and 35%, respectively. All methods gave high specificity above 60%. This study validates LAMP as an alternative method for the diagnosis of surra.