Comparison of real-time PCR and Kato smear microscopy for the detection of hookworm infections in three consecutive faecal samples from schoolchildren in Ghana.

Background: The classic technique used to detect hookworm infections in population-based surveys is microscopic examination of Kato thick smears of multiple faecal samples per person as variation in soil-transmitted helminth egg output is common.

Methods: As an alternative to this time-consuming and logistically difficult procedure, a PCR-based method to detect hookworm infections was evaluated. Faecal samples collected from 65 Ghanaian school children during February-June 2006 were examined using both techniques.

Results: Thirty-one children with a hookworm infection were detected by Kato examination of three faecal samples compared with 30 children detected by PCR of a single faecal sample and 39 detected by PCR of three faecal samples.

Conclusion: PCR provides a sensitive alternative to the conventional microscopic detection of hookworm infections.