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

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Sergei Rodrigo Magalhães de Sousa, Alessandra de Queiroz Carvalho, Joyce Favacho Nogueira Cardoso, Paulo Marcos Zech Coelho, Stefan Michael Geiger, Martin Johannes Enk
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Schistosomiasis; Schistosoma mansoni; Kato Katz; Diagnostics; Prevalence; Amazon region; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0097-2017; https://doaj.org/article/fe795c759a7b4c6385ce3058aab2f695

Abstract INTRODUCTION: This study analyzed the performance of the Kato Katz technique in detecting intestinal schistosomiasis in the State of Pará. METHODS: Of three stool samples provided by each of 380 participants, a total of 16 Kato Katz slides were examined to define the reference value (RV) of positives for comparisons. RESULTS: The RV revealed 37 (9.7%) infected participants in contrast to 10 (2.6%) according to a single slide. CONCLUSIONS: This significant underestimation of the infection rate gives reason to discuss if the current classification of prevalence levels reflects the real situation, principally in low transmission areas, like the Amazon region.