Circulating Schistosoma DNA in seropositive patients: A twostep diagnostic approach to rule-out acute and active chronic schistosomiasis in low transmission settings

Abstract

The majority of the currently used diagnostic methods are conventional, including microscopic identification of Schistosoma ova in stool, urine and/or tissue smear, or immunological detection of parasitespecific antigen/antibodies [1,7,8] .The MDA control program for schistosomiasis is based on the application of a treatment strategy for all populations living in Schistosoma endemic regions,