The performance of haematuria reagent strips for the rapid mapping of urinary schistosomiasis: field experience from Southern Sudan.
Robinson, Emily;
Picon, Diana;
Sturrock, Hugh J;
Sabasio, Anthony;
Lado, Mounir;
Kolaczinski, Jan;
Brooker, Simon;
(2009)
The performance of haematuria reagent strips for the rapid mapping of urinary schistosomiasis: field experience from Southern Sudan.
Tropical medicine & international health, 14 (12).
pp. 1484-1487.
ISSN 1360-2276
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2009.02407.x
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The implementation of programmes to control neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) requires up-to-date information on the prevalence and distribution of each NTD. This study evaluated the performance of reagent strip testing for haematuria to diagnose Schistosoma haematobium infection among school-aged children in the context of a rapid mapping survey in Southern Sudan. The reagent strips were highly sensitive (97.8%) but only moderately specific (58.8%). The proportion of false positive diagnoses was significantly higher among girls than boys, especially among girls aged 5-10 years. These findings suggest that reagent strips alone are not sufficient for rapid mapping surveys. A two-step approach is thus recommended whereby haematuria-positive urine samples are subsequently examined using urine filtration.
