Abstract

Fusarium solani is the most virulent Fusarium sp., frequently reported in the fatal disseminated fusariosis in immunocompromised patients. However, it has been always considered, as a very rare or case report infection among HIV positive patients. Anyhow, because of its irreparable consequences, early diagnosis is very important. In this study, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method was developed for rapid and specific detection of F. solani in serum samples of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients. Transcription elongation factor (TEF-1α) region was considered as the target gene. The test was carried out in 1 h reaction at 65°C in a heater block. The specificity of the test was 100% and its sensitivity was a copy of genome. Using this method among 45 DNAs samples extracted from HIV positive patients’ serums, 9 (20%) cases were positive for F. solani. All of the samples were rechecked by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the results were the same. Considering these results, it was concluded that due to advantages of the LAMP technique, it can be a better alternative for PCR, even in low technology laboratories. In addition, these findings revealed that   the possibility of fatal fusariosis due to F. solani is not so rare in HIV positive patients.

Key words: Fusarium solani, loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), HIV, polymerase chain reaction (PCR).