DNA tests for Strongyloidiasis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Development, evaluation and validation of nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAATs)for the diagnosis of Strongyloides stercoralis
IRAS ID
151217
Contact name
Peter Chiodini
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis) is a parasitic worm capable of establishing long term infections in humans and may cause severe disease in immuno-compromised individuals. Current diagnosis relies on either observation of parasite in stools and stool cultures using a microscope or detection of anti-parasite antibodies in the human blood.
The current suite of diagnostic tests needs to be improved with new diagnostic techniques for a number of reasons: Microscopy and culture are relatively insensitive as diagnostic tools, given that few of the patients diagnosed with strongyloidiasis by serological tests have observable parasites in their stools, whilst serological tests are unable to serve as a test of cure due to long term persistence of anti-parasite antibodies.
Nucleic acid amplification techniques have been implemented as adjuncts or replacement to traditional stool microscopy for a number of pathogens in the Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Such technologies have significantly improved the quality of diagnostic services offered by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases for the detection and treatment of intestinal infections. Hospital for Tropical Diseases has been at the forefront of developing such tests that can easily be run in a simple water bath, so called isothermal technologies for the detection of blood borne parasites. One such test, known as loop-mediated isothermal amplification, has significant benefits over the current molecular tests, known as Polymerase Chain Reaction, because they do not need expensive equipment to run. It is our aim to improve the diagnosis of Strongyloidiasis at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, concentrating initially on evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of a published real-time polymerase chain reaction and subsequently developing a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification procedure (LAMP) previously developed on cultured samples at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1902
Date of REC Opinion
14 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion