Abstract
Schistosomiasis is an important zoonotic parasitic disease that causes serious harms to humans and animals. Surveillance and diagnosis play key roles in schistosomiasis control, however, current techniques for surveillance and diagnosis of the disease have limitations. As genome data for parasites are increasing, novel techniques for detection incorporating nucleotide sequences are receiving widespread attention. These sensitive, specific, and rapid detection methods are particularly important in the diagnosis of low-grade and early infections, and may prove to have clinical significance. This paper reviews the progress of nucleic acid detection in the diagnosis and prevention of schistosomiasis, including such aspects as the selection of target genes, and development and application of nucleic acid detection methods.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-016-0116-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Schistosomiasis or bilharzia, a serious parasitic disease caused by blood flukes, continues to plague many developing countries in the tropics
The advent of large-scale mass chemotherapy campaigns for schistosomiasis in endemic countries has led to a lower intensity of infections and reduced the effectiveness of conventional diagnostic tests such as serology and the Kato-Katz stool smear
More sensitive detection methods are needed in the clinical setting and for epidemiological studies
Summary
Schistosomiasis or bilharzia, a serious parasitic disease (third in importance to malaria and amoebiasis) caused by blood flukes, continues to plague many developing countries in the tropics. PCR [43], real-time PCR [23], and LAMP [10] targeted at Dra I have been developed and applied to detect excrement and serum DNA from humans and snails, indicating its potential application in the diagnosis of schistosomiasis. A real-time PCR technique based on 18 s rDNA gene of S. japonicum was established and used to detect parasite-derived DNA in mouse feces and serum samples [25].
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