Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease that affects about 290 million patients worldwide. Children aged between 5 and 14 years represent 45.8% of the affected patients, in addition, schistosomiasis has been reported in Schistosoma-free areas, mostly because of tourism and immigration from endemic countries. Intestinal schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni is mainly diagnosed via direct stool examination for egg detection. Immunological methods are favoured for disease monitoring and preliminary checking for communities in areas with low infection rates, and for patients with light and chronic infections where parasitological tests are negative. PCR-based diagnostic techniques are more sensitive, but expensive. Tegument proteins and miRNAs are promising markers for diagnosis of schistosomiasis. Here we review the diagnostic methods for schistosomiasis mansoni aiming to reach a standardized technique for diagnosis of early infection to help better control of the disease.

Objective: To compare the genotype frequencies of HLA class- II DRB1 alleles in Giardia (G.) lamblia-infected children. Methods: A total of 490 Egyptian children aged 2-16 years were subjected to microscopic stool examination to detect G. lamblia infection, and to exclude other intestinal pathogens. On the basis of their microscopic findings, a group of 80 children were chosen as giardiasis cases, another 80 children were confirmed as Giardia free control group by immunochromatographic test, and the remaining children were excluded. Both giardiasis and control groups were then subjected to blood examination to identify their genetic type of HLA-DRB1 alleles. Results: HLA class-II DRB1∗03:01 and DRB1∗13:01 alleles were significantly associated with G. lamblia infection (P<0.001 for each variable). On the other hand, HLA class-II DRB1∗04:02, DRB1∗10:01, DRB1∗14:01 and DRB1∗15:01 alleles were significantly demonstrated in Giardia free children. However, other HLA-DRB1 alleles did not show any significant association with giardiasis. Conclusions: HLA class-II DRB1∗03, DRB1∗13, DRB1∗04, DRB1∗10, DRB1∗14 and DRB1∗15 alleles may be involved in the establishment of host immune response to G. lamblia infection.

Objective: To evaluate the in vitro antischistosomal activity of two new synthetic benzimidazole-related compounds: NBTP-OH and NBTP-F. Methods: Schistosoma adult worms were recovered from mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni cercaria, washed and then incubated in the culture media with different concentrations of compounds NBTP-OH and NBTP-F up to 72 h. Scanning electron microscopy was conducted to report morphological changes. Results: Incubation of adult Schistosoma mansoni with 10 µg/mL of NBTP-OH for 48 h killed 81.25% of worms. The calculated LC50 and LC90 72 h post-incubation were 6.8 µg/mL and 9.8 µg/ mL, respectively. Exposure of worms to 10 µg/mL of NBTP-F killed 89.5% of worms after 48 h, mostly males (83.3%), the LC50 and LC90 after 72 h of incubation were 4.8 µg/mL and 6.9 µg/mL, respectively. Worms incubated for 72 h with these compounds revealed swelling and deformity of oral sucker, disorganization and erosion of the tegument when examined with scanning electron microscopy. Conclusions: NBTP-OH and NBTP-F possess in vitro antischistosomal activities; however, in vivo studies should be conducted to examine their antischistosomal effects.