A comprehensive exploration of schistosomiasis: Global impact, molecular characterization, drug discovery, artificial intelligence and future prospects.

Schistosomiasis, one of the neglected tropical diseases which affects both humans and animals, is caused by trematode worms of the genus . The disease is caused by several species of which affect several organs such as urethra, liver, bladder, intestines, skin and bile ducts. The life cycle of the disease involves an intermediate host (snail) and a mammalian host.

Promise and perils of paper-based point-of-care nucleic acid detection for endemic and pandemic pathogens.

From HIV and influenza to emerging pathogens like COVID-19, each new infectious disease outbreak has highlighted the need for massively-scalable testing that can be performed outside centralized laboratory settings at the point-of-care (POC) in order to prevent, track, and monitor endemic and pandemic threats. Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) are highly sensitive and can be developed and scaled within weeks while protein-based rapid tests require months for production. Combining NAATs with paper-based detection platforms are promising due to the manufacturability, scalability, and simplicity of each of these components.

Microfluidic rapid and autonomous analytical device (microRAAD) to detect HIV from whole blood samples.

While identifying acute HIV infection is critical to providing prompt treatment to HIV-positive individuals and preventing transmission, existing laboratory-based testing methods are too complex to perform at the point of care. Specifically, molecular techniques can detect HIV RNA within 8-10 days of transmission but require laboratory infrastructure for cold-chain reagent storage and extensive sample preparation performed by trained personnel. Here, we demonstrate our point-of-care microfluidic rapid and autonomous analysis device (microRAAD) that automatically detects HIV RNA from whole blood.