Purpose

Fascioliasis is a worldwide distributed trematodiasis considered a neglected disease. Diagnosis in humans has been traditionally based on parasitological and immunological techniques. Recently we reported the use of the PCR in stool samples for the individual diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate human fascioliasis by a combination of diagnostic methods in an area where the disease is highly endemic in animals.

Methods

We studied all the inhabitants (N = 240) of Tatón village, Argentina, by Fasciola hepatica rproCL1-ELISA. Among them, we continued the study with 13 cases that had at least two positive serological tests, who performed a questionnaire, physical examination, abdominal ultrasonography, and collection of blood and faeces. Blood/serum samples were used for Fh rproCL1-ELISA and liver function tests. Faeces were used for parasitological analysis and PCR of a repetitive fragment of Fasciola sp.

Results

Among the 13 patients, 9 presented symptoms of biliary colic. All patients repeated positive serology. F. hepatica eggs were not detected. PCR was positive in 11 cases.

Conclusion

This is the first report employing an approach based on the combination of methods for the evaluation of human fascioliasis in an endemic area, which includes molecular tools with a high value in detecting low infections.

中文翻译：

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在流行地区研究人片吸虫病的联合方法学中使用 PCR

目的

片吸虫病是一种全球分布的吸虫病，被认为是一种被忽视的疾病。人类的诊断传统上基于寄生虫学和免疫学技术。最近我们报道了在粪便样本中使用 PCR 进行个体诊断。本研究的目的是通过结合诊断方法在该疾病在动物中高度流行的地区评估人类片吸虫病。

方法

我们 通过肝片吸虫rproCL1-ELISA 研究了阿根廷 Tatón 村的所有居民 ( N = 240) 。其中，我们对13例至少2次血清学检测呈阳性的病例继续研究，他们进行了问卷调查、体格检查、腹部超声检查、血液和粪便收集。血液/血清样本用于Fh rproCL1-ELISA 和肝功能测试。粪便被用于的重复片段的寄生虫分析和PCR片形吸虫属

结果

13例患者中，9例出现胆绞痛症状。所有患者血清学重复阳性。未检测到肝镰孢菌卵。PCR阳性11例。

结论

这是第一份采用基于方法组合评估流行地区人片吸虫病的方法的报告，其中包括在检测低感染方面具有高价值的分子工具。