The challenges, value and impact of conducting qPCR in the developing world

Molecular biological tools are at the forefront of biological and medical research worldwide. Currently, methods that employ nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAAT), like qPCR, are increasingly utilised to assess disease diagnosis, prognosis, incidence, prevalence and epidemiology. The development of NAATs for use in infectious disease research has historically been led by research institutes based in resource rich settings. Here we discuss the challenges posed when utilising NAATs for research in resource poor settings and assess the impact and value such an approach yields with reference to our own experiences in tuberculosis (TB) in Tanzania and Zambia.