Development and clinical evaluation of sdaA loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with an approach to prevent carryover contamination

A rapid and sensitive loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the sdaA gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was developed using a dUTP-uracil-N-glycosylase (dUTP-UNG) strategy to prevent carryover contamination. Evaluation of the assay using clinical specimens (n = 648) showed high specificity (97.2%) and sensitivity (100%), demonstrating its potential as a diagnostic test for tuberculosis, especially in resource-limited settings.