Point-of-Care Diagnostic for Acute Q Fever using LAMP

Q fever is caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii and presents with acute symptoms indistinguishable from many other blood infections. Chronic infection, however, can result in endocarditis, with a high mortality rate (up to 60% of chronic Q fever cases) and requiring open-heart surgery to repair substantial valve damage in many cases. Q fever can be airborne or tick-borne, and is associated with sheep and other livestock. Q fever is a significant factor in deployment conditions in Iraq and Afganistan. It is important to diagnose Q fever during its acute phase to direct appropriate treatment and to identify personnel requiring follow-up monitoring for chronic disease. While serology tests have been commercialized for Q fever detection, it is necessary to test both IgG and IgM against two types of Coxiella burnetii antigens to differentiate between acute and chronic disease stages. In addition, a high false positive rate occurs for these assays. To eliminate these shortcomings, Agave BioSystems proposes to modify a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) reaction built into a point-of-care primitive field diagnostic device.