Diagnosis of human filariases (except onchocerciasis)

Nested PCR to detect and distinguish the sympatric filarial species Onchocerca volvulus, Mansonella ozzardi and Mansonella perstans in the Amazon Region

“…Furthermore, the sensitivity of the method seems to be very high. All these facts suggest a misdiagnosis in the microscopy, as this diagnostic method is highly subjective, requires considerable expertise and has limited sensitivity (Walther & Muller 2003). The specificity test for the filaria PCR revealed that no cross-amplification occurred for any blood parasite other than those commonly found in humans.…”

“…However, these techniques are labor intensive, not always accurate, tedious, time consuming and often impractical. Furthermore, these approaches require skilled microscopists to distinguish species of microfilariae that may coexist in one region, colonize the same tissues and be transmitted by the same vector (Walther & Muller 2003). In Brazil, and especially in Amazonia, atypical filarial localizations in the human host make microscopic diagnosis complicated.…”

High Prevalence of Mansonella perstans Filariasis in Rural Senegal

“…Blood smears were stained with Giemsa and analyzed by microscopy to identify malarial trophozoites and gametocytes and the presence of microfilaria. 5,24 On each slide, 200 oil-immersion fields (∼0.5 μL blood) were examined, and the filarial:leukocyte ratio was measured. 25,26 Arthropod collection.…”

“…1 Adult nematodes are 35-80 mm long, live in the body cavities including pericardium, mesentery, and perirenal and retroperitoneal connective tissues of humans. 5 The microfilariae are nonperiodic and circulate in the blood in equal amounts throughout the day and night. They can also often be found in salivary gland abscesses, 6 an intraocular position, 7 and the conjunctiva.…”

Semi-Quantitative Scoring of an Immunochromatographic Test for Circulating Filarial Antigen

“…7,8 Two methods have been used to evaluate this, namely ultrasonography, which permits visualization of motile adult worms (the "filarial dance sign") in some infected individuals, and quantitative CFA testing. [9][10][11][12][13] However, ultrasonography for LF is not sensitive for diagnosis of filarial infections and it requires expensive equipment and highly trained personnel. Quantitative CFA testing also requires highly trained personnel and significant laboratory infrastructure.…”