ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2022
Characterising co-infections with Plasmodium spp., Mansonella perstans or Loa loa in asymptomatic children, adults and elderly people living on Bioko Island using nucleic acids extracted from malaria rapid diagnostic tests.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Laboratory diagnosis of loiasis to support individual patient management: A systematic review.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence, probability, and characteristics of malaria and filariasis co-infections: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Application of artificial intelligence in geriatric infection: recent advances and prospects.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Nodding syndrome, a case-control study in Mahenge, Tanzania: Onchocerca volvulus and not Mansonella perstans as a risk factor.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2023Article
- Development and evaluation of PlasmoPod: A cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test for rapid malaria diagnosis and surveillance.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRegular and comprehensive epidemiological surveys of the filarial nematodes Mansonella perstans and Loa loa in children, adolescents and adults living across Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea are lacking. We aimed to demonstrate that blood retained on malaria rapid diagnostic tests, commonly deployed for malaria surveys, could be used as a source of nucleic acids for molecular based detection of M. perstans and L. loa. We wanted to determine the positivity rate and distribution of filarial nematodes across different age groups and geographical areas as well as to understand level of co-infections with malaria in an asymptomatic population. METHODOLOGY: M. perstans, L. loa and Plasmodium spp. parasites were monitored by qPCR in a cross-sectional study using DNA extracted from a subset malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) collected during the annual malaria indicator survey conducted on Bioko Island in 2018. PRINCIPAL
findingsWe identified DNA specific for the two filarial nematodes investigated among 8.2% (263) of the 3214 RDTs screened. Positivity rates of M. perstans and L. loa were 6.6% and 1.5%, respectively. M. perstans infection were more prominent in male (10.5%) compared to female (3.9%) survey participants. M. perstans parasite density and positivity rate was higher among older people and the population living in rural areas. The socio-economic status of participants strongly influenced the infection rate with people belonging to the lowest socio-economic quintile more than 3 and 5 times more likely to be L. loa and M. perstans infected, respectively. No increased risk of being co-infected with Plasmodium spp. parasites was observed among the different age groups. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We found otherwise asymptomatic individuals were infected with M. perstans and L. loa. Our study demonstrates that employing mRDTs probed with blood for malaria testing represents a promising, future tool to preserve and ship NAs at room temperature to laboratories for molecular, high-throughput diagnosis and genotyping of blood-dwelling nematode filarial infections. Using this approach, asymptomatic populations can be reached and surveyed for infectious diseases beyond malaria.
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