AUTHOR=Cavalcanti Marta G. ,  Cunha Aline Fernandes Araujo , Peralta José Mauro 

TITLE=The Advances in Molecular and New Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnosis of Schistosomiasis Pre- and Post-praziquantel Use: In the Pursuit of More Reliable Approaches for Low Endemic and Non-endemic Areas

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2019

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00858

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2019.00858

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=Schistosomiasis is the second most important neglected tropical disease (NTD) in the world. Diagnosis of active infection is crucial for surveillance of controlled or post-elimination schistosomiasis areas. In addition, the use of conventional diagnostic tools in no-exposure populations (such as travelers and children 0–5 years old) results in misdiagnoses in the prepatent period of infection exposure. Also, the accuracy of standard tests applied in low-endemicity areas (LEAs) decreases after several treatment courses. We aimed to determine whether it would be necessary to replace the standard diagnostic tools completely.  Reliable, cheap and easy-to-use diagnostic tools are needed to respond to the demands of a new era of global eradication of schistosomiasis. To this end, molecular diagnosis—including nucleic acid-based assays (loop-mediated isothermal amplification, polymerase chain reaction) and circulating cathodic and anodic antigen detection (POC-CCA, POC-CAA) point-of-care tests have become promising strategies. In this review, we attempt to address the use of alternative diagnostic tests for active infection detection and drug-monitoring after specific schistosomiasis treatment.