Sensitive Diagnosis and Post-Treatment Follow-Up of Schistosoma mansoni Infections in Asymptomatic Eritrean Refugees by Circulating Anodic Antigen Detection and Polymerase Chain Reaction

Hoekstra, Pytsje T., Chernet, Afona, de Dood, Claudia J., Brienen, Eric A.T., Corstjens, Paul L.A.M., Labhardt, Niklaus D., Nickel, Beatrice, Wammes, Linda, van Dam, Govert J., Neumayr, Andreas, and van Lieshout, Lisette (2022) Sensitive Diagnosis and Post-Treatment Follow-Up of Schistosoma mansoni Infections in Asymptomatic Eritrean Refugees by Circulating Anodic Antigen Detection and Polymerase Chain Reaction. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 106 (4). pp. 1240-1246.

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Abstract

The increasing number of refugees coming from or passing through Schistosoma-endemic areas and arriving in Europe highlights the importance of screening for schistosomiasis on arrival, and focuses attention on the choice of diagnostic test. We evaluate the diagnostic performance of circulating anodic antigen (CAA) detection in 92 asymptomatic refugees from Eritrea. Results were compared with already-available stool microscopy, serology, and urine point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) data. For a full diagnostic comparison, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the POC-CCA were included. All outcomes were compared against a composite reference standard. Urine and serum samples were subjected to the ultra-sensitive and highly specific up-converting particle lateral flow CAA test, Schistosoma spp. real-time PCR was performed on urine and stool, and the POC-CCA was used on urine using the G-score method. CAA was detected in 43% of urine and in 40% of serum samples. Urine PCR was negative in all 92 individuals, whereas 25% showed Schistosoma DNA in stool. POC-CCA was positive in 30% of individuals. The CAA test confirmed all microscopy positives, except for two cases that were also negative by all other diagnostic procedures. Post-treatment, a significant reduction in the number of positives and infection intensity was observed, in particular regarding CAA levels. Our findings confirm that microscopy, serology, and POC-CCA lack the sensitivity to detect all active Schistosoma infections. Accuracy of stool PCR was similar to microscopy, indicating that this method also lacks sensitivity. The CAA test appeared to be the most accurate method for screening active Schistosoma infections and for monitoring treatment efficacy.

Item ID: 74416
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1476-1645
Copyright Information: Copyright © 2022 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2022 09:02
FoR Codes: 32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3202 Clinical sciences > 320211 Infectious diseases @ 50%
32 BIOMEDICAL AND CLINICAL SCIENCES > 3207 Medical microbiology > 320704 Medical parasitology @ 50%
SEO Codes: 20 HEALTH > 2001 Clinical health > 200101 Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions @ 100%
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