APPLICATION OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY IN DETECTION PATHOGENS AND VECTOR BORN DISEASE AT NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MALARIOLOGY - PARASITOLOGY- ENTOMOLOGY IN HO CHI MINH CITY

Abstract

Molecular biology techniques are increasingly being used in scientific research and supply for medicine to contribute response the duty about taking care and protecting people’s health. Institute of Malariology - Parasitology - Entomology in Ho Chi Minh City (IMPE HCM) has deployed the application about some molecular biology techniques to detect pathogens, vector born disease such as Nested-PCR, Real time PCR, LAMP…. These techniques give the high results, particularly the detection of pathogens with low density such as malaria parasites, with high sensitivity and specificity, predictive value is relatively accurate. In the identification of medical vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, mites, chigger mites…it also give the exactly value when we compared with GenBank.

Especially, the previous study of the IMPE HCM assesses the prevalence of malaria parasites in the
heavy malaria population, which tested by the Giemsa technique (the gold standard for malaria parasites
test) detected parasite with low density (about 0.2% to 0.5%), but with LAMP and Nested PCR method
detected higher rates (4.4% and 14.7%). Based on this research results, a number of malaria parasites
may be missed without the application of molecular biology techniques in the pathogens detection.
Beside that, the researches about genetic identification also contributed a new look with more accurate and needs more deep research in the field of parasites, helminths and vectors born disease.