National Reference Laboratory of Animal Schistosomiasis, Key Laboratory of Animal Parasitology of Ministry of Agriculture, Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, 200241, P. R. China.
Huancui Development Center for Animal Husbandry, Weihai, 264200, P. R. China.
Parasit Vectors. 2020 Oct 27;13(1):535. doi: 10.1186/s13071-020-04420-8.
Schistosomiasis japonica is an infectious disease caused by Schistosoma japonicum that seriously endangers human health. Domestic animals have important roles in disease transmission and goats are considered a primary reservoir host and source of infection. The prevalence and intensity of schistosomiasis infections have significantly decreased in China, and a more sensitive, specific detection method is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to develop a real-time PCR assay for accurate detection of S. japonicum infection in goats.
A real-time PCR method for detecting schistosomiasis japonica in goats was developed by amplification of a specific S. japonicum DNA fragment, and validated using a total of 94 negative and 159 positive plasma and serum samples collected in our previous study of S. japonicum infection. Both plasma and serum samples were evaluated by real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, 120 goat plasma samples from an S. japonicum-endemic area (Wangjiang) and 33 from a non-endemic region (Weihai) were collected and evaluated using our method.
The sensitivity and specificity of the real-time PCR for detecting infected samples were 98.74% (157/159, 95% CI: 95.53-99.85%) and 100% (94/94, 95% CI: 96.15-100%), respectively. For the ELISA, sensitivity and specificity were 98.11% (156/159, 95% CI: 94.59-99.61%) and 90.43% (85/94, 95% CI: 82.60-95.53%), respectively. Further, we found positivity rates for S. japonicum infection in Wangjiang and Weihai of 8.33% (10/120, 95% CI: 4.07-14.79%) and 0% (0/33, 95% CI: 0-10.58%), respectively.
The results of this study indicate that our real-time PCR method exhibits higher sensitivity and specificity than ELISA and is a useful method for detection of S. japonicum infection in goats.
日本血吸虫病是一种由日本血吸虫引起的传染病，严重危害人类健康。家畜在疾病传播中起着重要作用，山羊被认为是主要的储存宿主和感染源。中国的血吸虫病感染流行率和强度已显著下降，因此迫切需要一种更敏感、特异的检测方法。本研究旨在建立一种实时 PCR 检测山羊日本血吸虫感染的方法。
通过扩增日本血吸虫特异的 DNA 片段，建立了一种实时 PCR 检测山羊日本血吸虫病的方法，并应用于本实验室前期日本血吸虫感染的 94 份阴性和 159 份阳性血浆和血清样本进行验证。分别采用实时 PCR 和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测血浆和血清样本。此外，还收集了来自日本血吸虫病流行区（望江）的 120 份山羊血浆样本和来自非流行区（威海）的 33 份山羊血浆样本，采用本方法进行检测。
实时 PCR 检测感染样本的灵敏度和特异性分别为 98.74%（157/159，95%CI：95.53-99.85%）和 100%（94/94，95%CI：96.15-100%）。对于 ELISA，灵敏度和特异性分别为 98.11%（156/159，95%CI：94.59-99.61%）和 90.43%（85/94，95%CI：82.60-95.53%）。此外，我们发现望江和威海山羊日本血吸虫感染的阳性率分别为 8.33%（10/120，95%CI：4.07-14.79%）和 0%（0/33，95%CI：0-10.58%）。
本研究结果表明，实时 PCR 法的灵敏度和特异性均高于 ELISA，是一种检测山羊日本血吸虫感染的有用方法。
