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. 2015 Mar;92(3):641-7.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0406. Epub 2015 Jan 19.

The ongoing revolution of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for microbiology reaches tropical Africa

Bécaye Fall  1 , Cheikh Ibrahima Lo  1 , Bissoume Samb-Ba  1 , Nadine Perrot  1 , Silman Diawara  1 , Mamadou Wague Gueye  1 , Kowry Sow  1 , Maxence Aubadie-Ladrix  1 , Oleg Mediannikov  1 , Cheikh Sokhna  1 , Yaya Diemé  1 , Sonia Chatellier  1 , Boubacar Wade  1 , Didier Raoult  1 , Florence Fenollar  2
Affiliations

The ongoing revolution of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for microbiology reaches tropical Africa

Bécaye Fall et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) represents a revolution in routine pathogen identification in clinical microbiology laboratories. A MALDI-TOF MS was introduced to tropical Africa in the clinical microbiology laboratory of the Hôpital Principal de Dakar (Senegal) and used for routine pathogen identification. Using MS, 2,429 bacteria and fungi isolated from patients were directly assayed, leading to the identification of 2,082 bacteria (85.7%) and 206 fungi (8.5%) at the species level, 109 bacteria (4.5%) at the genus level, and 16 bacteria (0.75%) at the family level. Sixteen isolates remained unidentified (0.75%). Escherichia coli was the most prevalent species (25.8%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.8%), Streptococcus agalactiae (6.2%), Acinetobacter baumannii (6.1%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5.9%), and Staphylococcus aureus (5.9%). MALDI-TOF MS has also enabled the detection of rare bacteria and fungi. MALDI-TOF MS is a powerful tool for the identification of bacterial and fungal species involved in infectious diseases in tropical Africa.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percentage of 10 bacteria most frequently identified using VITEK MALDI-TOF MS in Dakar, Senegal and Marseille, France. AP-HM = Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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