LOOP-MEDIATED ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION VERSUS POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION IN VETERINARY SCIENCE: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW

Rapid and accurate detection of pathogens is central to animal health, zoonosis control and food safety. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its variants, particularly real-time PCR, remain the reference molecular tools in veterinary diagnostic laboratories because of their high sensitivity, specificity and capacity for quantification. However, PCR depends on thermal cyclers, trained staff and well-equipped laboratories, which limits its use in field and resource-limited settings. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), introduced in 2000, amplifies nucleic acids at a constant temperature of 60–65 °C using a strand-displacing DNA polymerase and four to six primers that recognise six to eight regions of the target. Results are obtained within 30–60 minutes and can be read by turbidity, fluorescence or a visible colour change without electrophoresis. LAMP is also more tolerant of inhibitors present in clinical samples, allowing simplified nucleic acid extraction. This review compares the principles, performance characteristics, cost and practical requirements of LAMP and PCR, and summarises their applications in the diagnosis of bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases of livestock, poultry and companion animals, including leptospirosis, brucellosis, foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, avian influenza, peste des petits ruminants, lumpy skin disease and rabies. Limitations of LAMP, such as complex primer design, carryover contamination and false-positive amplification, are discussed together with emerging solutions including uracil-DNA-glycosylase-supplemented LAMP, CRISPR-coupled detection and microfluidic point-of-care devices. LAMP and PCR are complementary: LAMP suits rapid field screening, while PCR remains the confirmatory and quantitative standard.