High prevalence of schistosoma japonicum infection in water buffaloes in the Philippines assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 2010 Apr;82(4): 646-52
Stephane P. Rousseau (RCU)
With warm thanks to Dr Jun Nakagawa for forwarding
Stephane
_______________________
Stéphane P. Rousseau (Mr)
Regional Coordinator
Regional Coordination Unit (RCU)
Asian Development Bank
Greater Mekong Subregion
Communicable Diseases Control Project
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Difficulty in controlling human Schistosoma japonicum infection is partly attributed to the presence of non-human definitive hosts. Water buffaloes are a major reservoir for transmission of S. japonicum to humans in China. However, in the Philippines, reports based on microscopic examination of buffalo stool identified a low prevalence of S. japonicum, and mathematical models using these data concluded that water buffaloes are not a major reservoir for transmission of S. japonicum to humans. We collected stool from 81 buffaloes in Macanip, Leyte, the Philippines, and assayed for S. japonicum infection by the Danish Bilharziasis Laboratory technique, the Kato-Katz technique, miracidia hatching, and a highly validated real-time polymerase chain reaction. The prevalence defined by each assay was 3.7%, 3.7%, 0%, and 51.5% respectively. Our results demonstrate that microscopic-based techniques dramatically underestimate the prevalence of S. japonicum infection in water buffaloes in the Philippines and warrant reexamination of the role of bovines in transmission of S. japonicum to humans in the Philippines.
Reprint requests: Jonathan D. Kurtis, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University Medical School, Rhode Island Hospital, 55 Claverick Street, Providence, RI 02903, E-mail: jonatha...@brown.edu .