The increased sensitivity of qPCR in comparison to Kato-Katz is required for the accurate assessment of the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection in settings that have received multiple rounds of mass drug administration.
Parasit Vectors
; 13(1): 324, 2020 Jun 24.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32580759
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The most commonly used diagnostic tool for soil-transmitted helminths (STH) is the Kato-Katz (KK) thick smear technique. However, numerous studies have suggested that the sensitivity of KK can be problematic, especially in low prevalence and low intensity settings. An emerging alternative is quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR).METHODS:
In this study, both KK and qPCR were conducted on stool samples from 648 participants in an STH epidemiology study conducted in the delta region of Myanmar in June 2016.RESULTS:
Prevalence of any STH was 20.68% by KK and 45.06% by qPCR. Prevalence of each individual STH was also higher by qPCR than KK, the biggest difference was for hookworm with an approximately 4-fold increase between the two diagnostic techniques. Prevalence of Ancylostoma ceylanicum, a parasite predominately found in dogs, was 4.63%, indicating that there is the possibility of zoonotic transmission in the study setting. In individuals with moderate to high intensity infections there is evidence for a linear relationship between eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces, derived from KK, and DNA copy number, derived from qPCR which is particularly strong for Ascaris lumbricoides.CONCLUSIONS:
The use of qPCR in low prevalence settings is important to accurately assess the epidemiological situation and plan control strategies for the 'end game'. However, more work is required to accurately assess STH intensity from qPCR results and to reduce the cost of qPCR so that is widely accessible in STH endemic countries.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Tricuríase
/
Helmintíase
/
Infecções por Uncinaria
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Parasit Vectors
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido