[Improvement of fully automatically microscopic scanning system based on the oil-lens and its application in reading of malaria blood smears].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the automatically microscopic scanning system based on the oil-lens and apply it in reading of malaria blood smears. METHODS: The software of the system was modified and optimized. A total of 115 blood films from Tengchong City of Yunnan Province were examined by the automatically systematic method or read by blood smear examination staff of Tengchong City and the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were determined and compared between the two methods. RESULTS: The scanning of the system was speedier and the actual operation was more simple and convenient. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the system were better than those of the professional staff. There was a significant difference of accuracy between the two methods (P = 0.002) and there was a significant difference of comprehensive sensitivity and specificity between the two methods (P < 0.01). Moreover, the system had the function of automatically saving scanning pictures which could be read again by everyone through the Internet. CONCLUSIONS: The fully automatically microscopic scanning system based on the oil-lens has many functions and the operation is simple. It can improve the speed, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of malaria blood smears and those indices are much better than those of the reading smears under a microscope by the professional staff. Therefore, it is easier to be applied at the grassroots level.

[Automatic microscopic scanning system in etiological diagnosis of schistosomiasis].

OBJECTIVE: To apply the automatically microscopic scanning system in the etiological diagnosis of schistosomiasis, as an alternative to the traditional manual microscopy detection, and improve the detection rates and efficiency of examinations of fecal slides. METHODS: A single-blind method was used throughout the process of both the automatic microscopic scanning system and traditional manual microscopy reading. Each of five professionals read 20 Kato-Katz manure piece samples. The detection results and time for each sample were recorded. The two methods were compared by the film reading speed, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. RESULTS: The overall accuracy of the diagnosis of schistosomiasis of the automatically microscopic scanning image system was 99.00%, higher than that of the traditional manual microscopy detection (91.00%) (P < 0.05); the sensitivity and specificity of the image system were 98.57% and 100%, respectively, and also higher than those of the traditional manual microscopy method (90.00% and 93.33%) (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The automatically microscopic scanning system is powerful, the scanning speed is fast, and the operation is easy. Its speed, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity are superior to those of the conventional manual microscopy; therefore, it is suitable for the etiological diagnosis of schistosomiasis at the grassroots' level.

[Endemic situation of schistosomiasis at the national surveillance sites of Nanjing, 2006].

Three endemic villages were selected as the national surveillance sites and Schistosoma japonicum infection in residents and livestock was investigated in 2006. The positive rate of serological (IHA) and stool examinations was 10.06% (307/3,053) and 0.13% (4/3,053) for local residents, 10.8% (7/65) and 0 (0/7) for moving people respectively. No infected livestock was found.