Evaluation of two coproscopic techniques for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis in a low-transmission area in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

The combination of three faecal parasitological methods to improve the diagnosis of schistosomiasis mansoni in a low endemic setting in the state of Ceará, Brazil

“…Given the lack of sensitivity of this method in areas where there is a low parasite load and low endemicity, researchers have pursued alternative diagnostic strategies aimed at overcoming this limitation , Siqueira et al 2011.…”

Schistosoma mansoni in a low-prevalence area in Brazil: the importance of additional methods for the diagnosis of hard-to-detect individual carriers by low-cost immunological assays

“…Diagnosis that is solely based on the presence of ova by microscopic examination may lack sensitivity, especially for patients with light infections (Siqueira et al 2011). Innovative and useful methods have been developed by our group, such as a saline gradient system for egg counts (Coelho et al 2009), a miracidia hatching device for miracidia visualisation (Jurberg et al 2008) and the DNA detection of eggs (Gomes et al 2010).…”

Comparison of the Kato-Katz and Helmintex methods for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis in a low-intensity transmission focus in Bandeirantes, Paraná, southern Brazil

“…The difficulty of diagnosing schistosomiasis in areas of low-intensity transmission, such as Esteio, has prompted several efforts to improve the sensitivity of egg detection in stool samples, such as using the Percoll and saline density gradient methods (Eberl et al 2002, Coelho et al 2009) or polymerase chain reaction analyses of stool samples (Gomes et al 2010, in addition to the examination of slides using the KK method or combinations of different methods (Siqueira et al 2011).…”

Schistosomiasis in the Amazon region: is the current diagnostic strategy still appropriate?

“…These results corroborate the results of other studies, confi rming a considerable lack of the method´s sensitivity, although each of them was conducted in areas with different epidemiological settings and profi les. It is noteworthy that the observed loss of 47% of infected individuals (false negatives) with the one slide, was even higher under the present low prevalence condition, when compared with 40% in high or 36% in medium prevalence areas 13,14 . A possible consequence of this phenomenon is the less likelihood of detecting infections in individuals with low worm burden from low prevalence areas, due to the decreased disease transmission pressure.…”

“…Examining fi ve slides from the same stool sample revealed an increase to 170 infected individuals, implying that 68 (40%) individuals were not correctly diagnosed using the one slide (false negative) examination. Data from Siqueira and colleagues 14 , using a similar approach in a medium prevalence area in Brazil, confi rmed these fi ndings by identifying 16 participants with schistosomiasis among 201 participants, indicating an approximate positive rate of 8% with a single slide 14 . The increase in the number of slides to six smears detected 25 egg-positive individuals, indicating that 36% of infected individuals were missed using only a single slide.…”