Rubagumya Sarah L, Nzalawahe Jahashi, Misinzo Gerald, Mazigo Humphrey D, Briet Matthieu, Misko Vyacheslav R, De Malsche Wim, Legein Filip, Justine Nyanda C, Basinda Namanya, Mafie Eliakunda
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, College of Health and Allied Sciences, St. Joseph University in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam P.O. Box 11007, Tanzania.
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Parasitology and Biotechnology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro P.O. Box 3019, Tanzania.
Vet Sci. 2024 Apr 13;11(4):174. doi: 10.3390/vetsci11040174.
Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are caused by roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and thread worms. Accurate diagnosis is essential for effective treatment, prevention, and control of these infections. This study evaluates a new diagnostic method called Single-image Parasite Quantification (SIMPAQ), which uses a lab-on-a-disc (LoD) technique to isolate STH eggs into a single imaging zone for digital analysis. The study evaluates the purification performance of the SIMPAQ technique for detecting STH eggs in animal samples. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 237 pigs and 281 dogs in the Morogoro region in Tanzania. Faecal samples were collected and processed with the LoD technique, as well as flotation and McMaster (McM) methods for comparison purposes. The overall prevalence of STH infections was high as per the LoD technique (74%), followed by McM (65.44%) and flotation (65.04%). Moreover, the overall performance of the LoD technique, using McM as the gold standard, was 93.51% (sensitivity), 60.89% (specificity), 81.91% (PPV), and 83.21% (NPV). The LoD technique exhibited high prevalence, sensitivity, and NPV, which demonstrates its value for STH egg detection and its crucial role in the era of accurate STH diagnosis, promoting proper management of the infection.
土壤传播的蠕虫（STH）感染是由蛔虫、钩虫、鞭虫和蛲虫引起的。准确诊断对于有效治疗、预防和控制这些感染至关重要。本研究评估了一种名为单图像寄生虫定量（SIMPAQ）的新诊断方法，该方法使用盘上实验室（LoD）技术将STH虫卵分离到单个成像区域进行数字分析。该研究评估了SIMPAQ技术在检测动物样本中STH虫卵方面的纯化性能。这是一项在坦桑尼亚莫罗戈罗地区对237头猪和281只狗进行的横断面研究。采集粪便样本并使用LoD技术以及浮选法和麦克马斯特（McM）法进行处理，以便进行比较。根据LoD技术，STH感染的总体患病率很高（74%），其次是McM法（65.44%）和浮选法（65.04%）。此外，以McM法作为金标准，LoD技术的总体性能为93.51%（敏感性）、60.89%（特异性）、81.91%（阳性预测值）和83.21%（阴性预测值）。LoD技术表现出高患病率、敏感性和阴性预测值，这证明了其在检测STH虫卵方面的价值及其在准确诊断STH时代的关键作用，有助于促进对该感染的妥善管理。
