Current advances in serological and molecular diagnosis of Schistosoma mekongi infection

TL;DR

This paper reviews current diagnostic methods for Schistosoma mekongi infection and highlights the need for better tools to control the disease.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of molecular and serological diagnostics for Schistosoma mekongi.

Findings

Current diagnosis of S. mekongi relies on copro-parasitological methods like Kato-Katz.

Serological techniques like ELISA are limited in application for S. mekongi.

Molecular tools specific to S. mekongi are scarce due to lack of genomic data.

Abstract

Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, caused by blood flukes belonging to the genus Schistosoma; it persists as a public health problem in selected regions throughout Africa, South America, and Asia. Schistosoma mekongi, a zoonotic schistosome species endemic to the Mekong River in Laos and Cambodia, is one of the significant causes of human schistosomiasis along with S. japonicum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium and S. intercalatum. Since its discovery, S. mekongi infection has been highly prevalent in communities along the Mekong River. Although surveillance and control measures have shown success in recent years, more robust diagnostic tools are still needed to establish more efficient control and prevention strategies to achieve and sustain an elimination status. Diagnosis of S. mekongi infection still relies on copro-parasitological techniques, commonly made by Kato-Katz stool examination. Serological techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) may also be applicable but in a limited setting. Targeted molecular and serological tools specific to the species, on the other hand, have been limited. This is due, in part, to the limited research and studies on the molecular biology of S. mekongi since genome information of this species has not yet been released. In this review, current advances, and gaps and limitations in the molecular and immunological diagnosis of S. mekongi are discussed.