Evaluation of a Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction for the Laboratory Diagnosis of Giardia intestinalis in Stool Samples from Schoolchildren from the Centre-Ouest and Plateau Central Regions of Burkina Faso

Abstract

Objective: Giardiasis, a zoonotic, diarrhoeal disease with worldwide occurrence, is routinely diagnosed by microscopic examination of stool samples. However, implementation of this method relies on skilled personal, it is time consuming and relatively low in sensitivity. A superior diagnostic approach to detect the causative agent Giardia intestinalis would, hence, be highly desirable. The current study aimed to assess real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the detection of G. intestinalis as an alternative to microscopy. Material and methods:Stool samples from healthy schoolchildren, aged 8-14 years, from eight schools of the Centre-Ouest and Plateau Central regions in Burkina Faso were collected within a cross-sectional study in February 2015. Microscopic examination was performed on two faecal samples collected over two consecutive days from 441 schoolchildren. Each faecal specimen was examined using Kato-Katz and formol-ether methods of concentration in addition to direct examination. Real-time PCR was used to detect G. intestinalis in all microscopy-positive and a random sample of microscopy-negative samples.Results: Microscopic examination revealed 94 microscopy-positive samples, and an overall G. intestinalis prevalence of 27.2%. Using the microscopic examination as the 'gold' standard, the overall sensitivity of real-time PCR was demonstrated to be 76.6% ranging from 58.3% to 94.1% and the specificity was 96.2% ranging from 96.2% to 100% across schools. Conclusion:Real-time PCR appears to be a solid detection method for G. intestinalis in the current setting. However, it needs to be further optimized to become a more sensitive tool for G. intestinalis diagnosis in low-income settings.

Evaluation of Nano-Graphene Based Sandwich and Dot-Elisa as Promising Techniques for Diagnosis of Human Intestinal Giardiasis

“…The prevalence of infection was 2%-5% in developed countries and up to 30% in developing countries. Additional-ly, the highest percent of infection occurs in children younger than 10 years old (Caccio and Sprong, 2011;Diagbouga et al, 2017). Giardiasis is still a significant public health problem.…”

“…Giardiasis is still a significant public health problem. It is included in the 'Neglected Diseases Initiative' of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 (Diagbouga et al, 2017).…”