Background
Schistosomiasis is a severely debilitating and often fatal chronic parasitic disease. Caused by agents of the genus Schistosoma, it afflicts more than 200 million people worldwide. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 93% of the world cases of schistosomiasis. The two main Schistosoma species affecting people in Africa are Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni. By identifying communities with accurate schistosomiasis prevalence, diagnostic tests could help guide the allocation of resources and interventions to where they are needed most. Affordable diagnostic tools for rapid mapping of schistosomiasis in the context of integrated control programmes in Africa thus are urgently needed.
Aim
- Develop molecular-based POC assays will be via combining rapid DNA extraction, multienzyme isothermal rapid amplification (MIRA) and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) with a CRISPR-associated protein 12a (Cas12a) system.
- Develop immunological POC tests through antigen screening and incorporating the best antigen into lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs). Both assays will be assessed with human clinical samples collected from S. mansoni endemic areas in Uganda. To serve as a reference test for both POC assays, qPCR assay will be performed on DNA extracted from the Uganda human faecal samples using commercial kits.
Project Potential
If successfully developed and deployed, both POC assays will have a significant impact on the monitoring aspect of parasitic control programs, with potential to replace the far less sensitive Kato-Katz procedure currently used to facilitate the control of schistosomiasis mansoni in endemic areas.