AUTHOR=Pandi Mehdi , Sharifdini Meysam , Ashrafi Keyhan , Atrkar Roushan Zahra , Rahmati Behnaz , Hajipour Nayereh 

TITLE=Comparison of Molecular and Parasitological Methods for Diagnosis of Human Trichostrongylosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.759396

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.759396

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=Human trichostrongyliasis is a zoonotic disease that is prevalent among rural populations in some countries. This study was performed to evaluate various parasitological methods as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of human trichostrongyliasis. A total of 206 fresh stool samples were collected from residents of endemic villages of northern Iran. All samples were examined by conventional parasitological methods including wet mount, formalin ethyl acetate concentration (FEAC), agar plate culture (APC), Harada-Mori culture (HMC), and Willis and along with PCR technique. Among the total of 206 individuals examined, 73 people (34.8%) were found infected with Trichostrongylus species by combined parasitological methods. By considering the combined results of parasitological methods as the diagnostic gold standard, the Willis technique had a sensitivity of 91.7% compared with 52.8% for the APC, 40.3% for the HMC, 37.5% for FEAC, and 5.6% for wet mount techniques. Diagnostic specificity was 100% for all the parasitological methods. Furthermore, the PCR method detected Trichostrongylus spp. DNA in 79 fecal samples (38.3%) with a sensitivity of 97.2% and specificity of 93.3%. According to the current findings, the Willis method is more sensitive than other parasitological methods in the diagnosis of human trichostrongyliasis. However, PCR assay was more sensitive and more reliable in the detection of human trichostrongyliasis in comparison with parasitological methods.