We developed a new approach to DNA sequence analysis that uses fluorogenic reporter molecules--molecular beacons--and demonstrated their ability to discriminate alleles in real-time PCR assays of genomic DNA. A set of overlapping molecular beacons was used to analyze an 81-bp region of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis rpoB gene for mutations that confer resistance to the antibiotic rifampin. In a blinded study of 52 rifampin-resistant and 23 rifampin-susceptible clinical isolates, this method correctly detected mutations in all of the resistant strains and in none of the susceptible strains. The assay was carried out entirely in sealed PCR tubes and was simple to perform and interpret. This approach can be used to analyze any DNA sequence of moderate length with single base pair accuracy.
In 2018, there was no change in the number of syphilis diagnoses at SHC compared with 2017; 1,224 versus 1,228 respectively. Of these infections, 96 percent were diagnosed among MSM. After many years of increasing, the percentage of MSM with the infection has declined slowly; from 2.9 percent in 2016, to 2.6 percent in 2017, and 2.4 percent in 2018. This change is mainly due to a lower percentage of syphilis found among MSM with HIV. The number of diagnoses among women and heterosexual men remained very low in 2018, with diagnoses among 0.1 and 0.2 percent respectively among those tested. HIV The number of new diagnoses of HIV made at the SHC in 2018 (249) was lower than in 2017 and 2016, 286 and 285 respectively. Of these, 90 percent were among MSM. The number of diagnoses among women and heterosexual men remained very low. In 2018, 909 people with HIV were treated at Dutch HIV treatment centres ('in care') for the first time; less than in 2017 (1,037). In total, 20,181 people with HIV were registered in care in 2018.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.