Imported Schistosomiasis in Children: A Multicentre Study of Prevalence and Diagnostic Methods - European Medical Journal

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Imported Schistosomiasis in Children: A Multicentre Study of Prevalence and Diagnostic Methods

1 Mins
Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
Authors:
*Claire Leblanc,1 Sophie Brun,2 Olivier Bouchaud,3 Izri Arezki,2 Vichita Ok,2 Marion Caseris,4 Frédéric Sorge,5 Luu-Ly Pham,1 André Paugam,6 Luc Paris,7 Stéphane Jaureguiberry,8 Vincent Levy,9 Marouane Boubaya,9 Albert Faye,4 Patricia Mariani,10 Loïc De Pontual1

1. Department of Pediatrics, AP-HP University Paris 13, Jean Verdier Hospital, Paris, France
2. Department of Parasitology-Mycology, AP-HP University Paris 13, Avicenne Hospital, Paris, France
3. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, AP-HP University Paris 13, Avicenne Hospital, Paris, France
4. Department of General Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, AP-HP University Paris Diderot, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France
5. Department of General Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, AP-HP University Paris Descartes, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, Paris, France
6. Department of Parasitology-Mycology, AP-HP University Paris Descartes, Cochin Hospital, Paris, France
7. Department of Parasitology-Mycology, AP-HP Sorbonne Université, Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, Paris, France
8. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, AP-HP University Paris-Sud Saclay, Kremlin Bicêtre Hospital, Paris, France
9. Department of Clinical Research, AP-HP University Paris 13, Avicenne Hospital, Paris, France
10. Department of Microbiology, AP-HP University Paris Diderot, Robert Debré Hospital, Paris, France
*Correspondence to [email protected]

Disclosure:

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements:

The authors are very grateful to Dr Denis Limonne (LD-BIO Diagnostics, Lyon, France) for donating the Western blot and serum immunochromatographic assays, and to Ms Chantel Lamon (Rapid Medical Diagnostics, Pretoria, South Africa) for donating the point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA). The authors would like to thank Maya Husain, Alice Bergevin, Simon Escoda, Alexis Mandelcwajg, and Coralie Bloch-Queyrat for their help with the acquisition of data.

Citation:
EMJ Microbiol Infect Dis. ;1[1]:29-30.
Keywords:
Children, diagnostic methods, imported schistosomiasis, prevalence.

Each article is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 License.

INTRODUCTION

Schistosomiasis is currently the second most common parasitosis in the world, following malaria, in terms of morbidity and mortality.1 It is thought that, as a result of the increase in international travel and immigration from endemic regions, the incidence of imported schistosomiasis in France is rising. There are few data on imported schistosomiasis, especially in children. International guidelines recommend that adult migrants from endemic areas should be systematically screened for schistosomiasis, regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not.2,3 However, the lack of studies on paediatric imported schistosomiasis means that there are no specific guidelines on screening children. The objectives of the present study were to estimate the prevalence of imported schistosomiasis in at-risk children in the greater Paris region of France and to compare diagnostic methods.

METHODS

All children at risk of schistosomiasis and who had undergone consultations in four hospitals in the greater Paris region between June 2017 and June 2018 were prospectively included. Clinical and laboratory data were collected after a consent form and an information leaflet were given to legal guardians, and to the child using a translator if needed. Unaccompanied minor refugees signed their consent in the absence of legal guardians (considered emancipated minors). This research was declared to the French Commission Nationale Informatique et Libertés according to the French law relating to computers, files, and freedoms (CNIL). Urine and faeces samples were screened using microscopy, a point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen,4 and a real-time polymerase chain reaction assay.5 Serum samples were screened using a Western blot assay, an ELISA, an indirect haemagglutination assay, and an immunochromatographic assay.6 The Western blot assay and the microscopy analysis were the reference methods used to estimate the prevalence of schistosomiasis. A latent class model was used to evaluate each method’s diagnostic performance.7

RESULTS

A total of 114 children were included (male-to-female sex ratio: 2:9; mean age: 13.2 years). Most of the children were newly arrived migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The prevalence of schistosomiasis was 26.3% and half of these positive patients were asymptomatic. In a latent class model analysis, the ELISA and the Western blot assay had the same sensitivity (83%) and specificity (99%). The serum immunochromatographic assay also performed well (sensitivity: 100%; specificity: 89%).

CONCLUSION

The high prevalence of imported schistosomiasis among at risk children in the greater Paris region confirms the need for systematic screening. A serum immunochromatographic assay appears to be the most cost-effective screening method.

References
World Health Organization (WHO). Schistosomiasis. 2019. Available at: https://www.who.int/schistosomiasis/en/. Last accessed: 21 August 2019. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Schistosomiasis - Resources for Health Professionals. 2019. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/schistosomiasis/health_professionals/index.html. Last accessed: 29 October 2019. Gray DJ et al. Diagnosis and management of schistosomiasis. BMJ. 2011;342:d2651. Danso-Appiah A et al. Accuracy of point-of-care testing for circulatory cathodic antigen in the detection of schistosome infection: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bull World Health Organ. 2016;94:522-33A. Cnops L et al. A schistosoma haematobium-specific real-time PCR for diagnosis of urogenital schistosomiasis in serum samples of international travelers and migrants. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013;7(8):e2413. Beltrame A et al. Accuracy of parasitological and immunological tests for the screening of human schistosomiasis in immigrants and refugees from African countries: an approach with Latent Class Analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2017;11(6):e0005593. Rutjes AWS et al. Evaluation of diagnostic tests when there is no gold standard. A review of methods. Health Technol Assess. 2007;11(50):iii, ix-51.

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