Methods for Quantification of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Environmental Media: Current Techniques and Recent Advances

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Philip A. Collender, Emory University; Amy Kirby, Emory University; David Addiss, Emory University; Matthew Freeman, Emory University; Justin Remais, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-12-01
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2015 Elsevier Ltd.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2015.08.007
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Trends in Parasitology
• ISSN: 1471-4922
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 12
• Start Page: 625
• End Page: 639
• Grant/Funding Information: D.G.A. was supported by Children without Worms. J.V.R. and P.A.C. acknowledge additional support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (grant K01AI091864), the National Science Foundation Water Sustainability and Climate Program (grant 1360330), and the National Institutes of Health/National Science Foundation Ecology of Infectious Disease program funded by the Fogarty International Center (grant R01TW010286).
• Keywords: INFECTIVE LARVAE; Parasitology; TOXOCARA SPP.; NEMATODE EGGS; Science & Technology; REAL-TIME PCR; TOXASCARIS-LEONINA; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; CONTAMINATED PADDOCKS; NECATOR-AMERICANUS; FECAL SPECIMENS; ASCARIS-LUMBRICOIDES; PUBLIC-HEALTH IMPLICATIONS
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Environmental Sciences

Abstract

Limiting the environmental transmission of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), which infect 1.5 billion people worldwide, will require sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective methods to detect and quantify STHs in the environment. We review the state-of-the-art of STH quantification in soil, biosolids, water, produce, and vegetation with regard to four major methodological issues: environmental sampling; recovery of STHs from environmental matrices; quantification of recovered STHs; and viability assessment of STH ova. We conclude that methods for sampling and recovering STHs require substantial advances to provide reliable measurements for STH control. Recent innovations in the use of automated image identification and developments in molecular genetic assays offer considerable promise for improving quantification and viability assessment. The state-of-the-art and key developments in environmental methods for sampling, recovery and concentration, quantification, and viability assessment of soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are reviewed. Optimal protocols for sampling and recovery of STHs from environmental samples have not been developed and systematic investigation is needed. Recent advances in genetic assays and automated image analysis for quantification and viability assessment offer improved sensitivity, reliability, and sample throughput.