01880nas a2200313   4500000000100000008004100001260001200042653002500054653001800079653004600097100001600143700001000159700001400169700001300183700001200196700001600208700001100224700001100235700001000246700001700256700001200273700001600285245007400301856007000375300001100445490000700456520108900463022001401552       2021                            d  c01/202110aApplied Microbiology10aBiotechnology10aDiagnostic Technique in Health Technology1 avan Hooij A1 aFat E1 ade Jong D1 aKhatun M1 aSoren S1 aChowdhury A1 aRoy JC1 aAlam K1 aKim J1 aRichardus JH1 aGeluk A1 aCorstjens P00aPrototype multi-biomarker test for point-of-care leprosy diagnostics.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7807156/pdf/main.pdf  a1020060 v243 a<p>To end the decade-long, obstinately stagnant number of new leprosy cases, there is an urgent need for field-applicable diagnostic tools that detect infection with , leprosy's etiologic agent. Since immunity against  is characterized by humoral and cellular markers, we developed a lateral flow test measuring multiple host proteins based on six previously identified biomarkers for various leprosy phenotypes. This multi-biomarker test (MBT) demonstrated feasibility of quantitative detection of six host serum proteins simultaneously, jointly allowing discrimination of patients with multibacillary and paucibacillary leprosy from control individuals in high and low leprosy endemic areas. Pilot testing of fingerstick blood showed similar MBT performance in point-of-care (POC) settings as observed for plasma and serum. Thus, this newly developed prototype MBT measures six biomarkers covering immunity against  across the leprosy spectrum. The MBT thereby provides the basis for immunodiagnostic POC tests for leprosy with potential for other (infectious) diseases as well.</p>  a2589-0042