Application of Real-time PCR Platform for Detection of Vittaforma Corneae Among Patients With Microsporidia Keratitis

Clinical infections due to Microsporidium spp. are protean and can be found in humans, insects, and fishes. The most common type of infection is keratitis and mostly is caused by Vittaforma corneae. Diagnosis of patients with microsporiosis relies on pathological findings as well as laboratory detection of the causative organism. The conventional laboratory diagnosis of microsporiosis relies on microscopic visualization of the characteristic V. Corneae organisms. Laboratory tools of identification of V. corneae include Gram staining, Giemsa staining, and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining of scratching or biopsied specimens of infected cornea. However, the sensitivity of these staining methods is not acceptable due to the variation of specimen quality and quantity, processing, and low load of organisms in the specimens. The BD MAX system (Beckon Dickinson, Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, MD, USA) was introduced in clinical microbiology laboratory of NTUH in 2014 for Pneumocystis jirovecii detection. Till now, no data are available in using this system on V. corneae detection. We develop a fully automated molecular platform for detection of Vittaforma corneae among patients with microsporidia keratitis.