Quantitative detection of Schistosoma japonicum cercariae in water by real-time PCR.

ABSTRACT: In China alone, an estimated 30 million people are at risk of schistosomiasis, caused by the Schistosoma japonicum parasite. Disease has re-emerged in several regions that had previously attained transmission control, reinforcing the need for active surveillance. The environmental stage of the parasite is known to exhibit high spatial and temporal variability, and current detection techniques rely on a sentinel mouse method which has serious limitations in obtaining data in both time and space. Here we describe a real-time PCR assay to quantitatively detect S. japonicum cercariae in laboratory samples and in natural water that has been spiked with known numbers of S. japonicum. Multiple primers were designed and assessed, and the best performing set, along with a TaqMan probe, was used to

SUBMITTER: Hung YW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2580822 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature