Recent advances in the diagnosis of Schistosoma infection: the detection of parasite DNA
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
;
97(suppl.1): 171-172, Oct. 2002. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-325016
ABSTRACT
As Schistosoma sp. control programs are chiefly based on treatment of infected population, adequate case finding has a crucial role. The available diagnostic methods are far from ideal, since the search for eggs in stools and the detection of circulating antigens lack sensitivity in low prevalence and post-treatment situations and antibody detection lacks specificity. In most endemic foci, repeated treatment of infected people leaves a number of non-diagnosed and consequently non-treated persons, enough to maintain a persistent residue of 5 to 10 percent prevalence. In an attempt to surpass these diagnostic limitations we have developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of Schistosoma sp. in feces that, in a first population study, has shown to be more sensitive than three-repeated stool Kato-Katz examination. The PCR may constitute a valuable tool for the diagnosis of the Schistosoma sp. infection in special situations, when high sensitivity and specificity are required and infrastructure is available
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Schistosomiasis
/
DNA, Protozoan
/
Feces
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
Journal subject:
Tropical Medicine
/
Parasitology
Year:
2002
Type:
Article
/
Congress and conference
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Fiocruz/BR
/
Universidade de Säo Paulo/BR
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