Detection and Species Identification of Leishmania DNA from Filter Paper Lesion Impressions for Patients with American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

P p .930 specificity of PCR on invasively obtained specimens were 94.2% (95% confidence interval [CI], 87.9%‐100%) and 92.9% (95% CI, 79.4%‐100%). Sensitivity and specificity of filter paper PCR were 92.3% (95% CI, 85.1%‐99.5%) and 100%. Culture, smear, and leishmanin skin test all had inferior sensitivities, compared with PCR of invasive or noninvasive specimens ( ). Of 50 specimens positive by PCR, 19 had sufficient DNA for PCR-RFLP P ! .001 analysis. Conclusions. Filter paper PCR constitutes a sensitive and specific alternative to traditional diagnostic assays. This novel, rapid, well-tolerated method has the potential for widespread use in the field and in pediatric populations where traditional specimen collection is most difficult to perform, and can potentially be used for rapid species identification.