Using Routinely Collected Health Records to Identify the Fine-Resolution Spatial Patterns of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in Rwanda.

Background. Soil-transmitted helminths (STH) are parasitic diseases with significant public health impact. Analysis is generally based on cross-sectional prevalence surveys; outcomes are mostly aggregated to larger spatial units.

Nationwide Remapping of Infection in Rwanda Using Circulating Cathodic Antigen Rapid Test: Taking Steps toward Elimination.

The field standard for the detection of infection is Kato-Katz (KK), although it misses many active infections, especially light infections. In 2014, a reassessment of prevalence was conducted in Rwanda using the more sensitive point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen (POC-CCA) rapid assay. A total of 19,371 children from 399 schools were selected for testing for single urine CCA.

Evaluation, Validation, and Recognition of the Point-of-Care Circulating Cathodic Antigen, Urine-Based Assay for Mapping Infections.

Efforts to control infection depend on the ability of programs to effectively detect and quantify infection levels and adjust programmatic approaches based on these levels and program goals. One of the three major objectives of the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE) has been to develop and/or evaluate tools that would assist Neglected Tropical Disease program managers in accomplishing this fundamental task. The advent of a widely available point-of-care (POC) assay to detect schistosome circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) in urine with a rapid diagnostic test (the POC-CCA) in 2008 led SCORE and others to conduct multiple evaluations of this assay, comparing it with the Kato-Katz (KK) stool microscopy assay-the standard used for more than 45 years.

Circulating Anodic Antigen (CAA): A Highly Sensitive Diagnostic Biomarker to Detect Active Infections-Improvement and Use during SCORE.

The Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE) was funded in 2008 to conduct research that would support country schistosomiasis control programs. As schistosomiasis prevalence decreases in many places and elimination is increasingly within reach, a sensitive and specific test to detect infection with and has become a pressing need. After obtaining broad input, SCORE supported Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) to modify the serum-based antigen assay for use with urine, simplify the assay, and improve its sensitivity.

Parasite associations predict infection risk: incorporating co-infections in predictive models for neglected tropical diseases.

Background: Schistosomiasis and infection by soil-transmitted helminths are some of the world's most prevalent neglected tropical diseases. Infection by more than one parasite (co-infection) is common and can contribute to clinical morbidity in children. Geostatistical analyses of parasite infection data are key for developing mass drug administration strategies, yet most methods ignore co-infections when estimating risk.