Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Sensitivity and Specificity of A Urine Circulating Anodic Antigen Test For The Diagnosis of Schistosoma Haematobium in Low Endemic Settings
Sensitivity and Specificity of A Urine Circulating Anodic Antigen Test For The Diagnosis of Schistosoma Haematobium in Low Endemic Settings
Author Summary
The World Health Organization aspires to eliminate snail fever (schistosomiasis) as a pub-
lic health problem and to interrupt the transmission of this disease in selected areas by
2025. Efforts to achieve these goals are currently being intensified. As a result, the preva-
lence and intensity of infection will decline in many parts of the world. To detect light-in-
tensity infections, diagnostic tools with a high sensitivity and specificity are needed. We
assessed the accuracy of a method that is able to diagnose schistosomiasis via the detection
of circulating anodic antigen (CAA) in urine. We examined 1,200 urine samples from chil-
dren living on Pemba Island, Tanzania, a low-endemic area targeted for schistosomiasis
elimination. We found that the CAA-test had a considerably higher sensitivity than con-
ventional urine filtration microscopy and reagent strips that are widely used in schistoso-
miasis control programs. The empirical prevalence of infection with the parasite
Schistosoma haematobium determined by the CAA-test was up to 10 times higher than
that obtained by urine filtration. Our results suggest that the CAA-test—in combination
with urine filtration—is a promising approach for the diagnosis of S. haematobium in low-
transmission settings that are targeted for elimination.
Introduction
After many years of neglect, schistosomiasis and other parasitic worm infections are given con-
siderable attention by the research community, non-governmental organizations, funding bod-
ies, international organizations, policy makers, and disease control managers [1,2]. Indeed,
drug donations, in conjunction with political and financial commitment for scaling up control
interventions, have markedly expanded since the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical
Diseases was launched in early 2012 [3,4]. For example, the World Health Organization
(WHO) strategic plan 2012–2020 for schistosomiasis aims at morbidity control by 2020, and
elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem and interruption of transmission in
selected areas by 2025 [5]. The mainstay of morbidity control is preventive chemotherapy that
is the large-scale administration of praziquantel to at-risk groups (e.g., school-aged children).
To achieve elimination of schistosomiasis as a public health problem (i.e., the reduction of
heavy infection intensities in the at-risk population to below 1%), additional public health mea-
sures are recommended, alongside intensified interventions in pockets of high transmission
[5,6]. For interruption of transmission (i.e., reducing the incidence of infection to zero), it is es-
sential to increase the frequency of preventive chemotherapy and to supplement it with addi-
tional control measures, such as improved access to clean water and adequate sanitation, and
controlling intermediate host snails [5–9]. Monitoring the progress of control programs and
rigorous surveillance to identify remaining or reemerging transmission hotspots and individu-
als with high infection levels (so-called superspreaders), will be relevant for tailoring an ade-
quate response in close-to-elimination settings [5,6,10].
An accurate diagnosis is essential and should be adapted to the specific stage of a schistoso-
miasis control program [11,12]. Parasitological methods to detect Schistosoma eggs in stool
(e.g., Kato-Katz thick smear [13]) or urine (e.g., urine filtration [14]), or reagent strips to detect
microhematuria in urine [15] are widely used in control programs. However, while these meth-
ods are reasonably accurate in diagnosing moderate and heavy infection intensities, they show
low sensitivity for detecting light-intensity infections [16,17]. For appropriate monitoring and
surveillance in areas approaching schistosomiasis elimination, other, highly sensitive tools are
needed [4,11,18–22]. Moreover, as the prevalence of infection decreases over the course of a
control program, specificity becomes more important and will be an absolute requirement for
certification of elimination [11,19].
A promising diagnostic approach that might be suitable for highly sensitive and specific di-
agnosis of very light Schistosoma infections is the detection of Schistosoma adult worm circulat-
ing anodic antigen (CAA) in serum and urine using an up-converting phosphor-lateral flow
(UCP-LF) assay [20,23–25]. Concentration systems allowing the recognition of very low worm
numbers have been developed, and currently four urine-based assays are available in a robust
dry-reagent format [26,27]. These UCP-LF tests can detect 30 pg/ml, 3 pg/ml, 0.3 pg/ml, and
0.1 pg/ml CAA using 10 μl (UCAA10), 250 μl (UCAA250), 2 ml (UCAA2000), and 7.5 ml
urine (UCAA7500), respectively [27].
The UCAA2000 (and perhaps the UCAA250) is currently considered to show the best
trade-off between a high sensitivity and convenient field applicability [28]. However, the per-
formance of different UCP-LF CAA assays as sensitive and specific diagnostic tools for non-in-
vasive monitoring and surveillance remain to be determined in laboratories in Schistosoma
low-endemic settings. Recently, the UCAA2000, as well as a variant of the test conducted with
500 μl serum, have been successfully applied for the diagnosis of S. japonicum infections in low
transmission settings in the People’s Republic of China [29]. First validation attempts have also
been made with the UCAA250 for S. japonicum and S. mekongi detection in banked urine sam-
ples from the Philippines and Cambodia, respectively [30].
Here, we assess the accuracy of the UCAA2000 for the diagnosis of S. haematobium in three
low-prevalence settings (<2%, 2–5%, and 5–10%), as determined with a single urine filtration.
In the absence of a true ‘gold’ standard, sensitivity and specificity were determined empirically
and by means of latent class analysis (LCA). Urine samples were collected from children at-
tending primary schools on Pemba Island, United Republic of Tanzania, where prevalences
ranged between 1% and 10% according to a single urine filtration in a recent parasitological
survey conducted in the frame of the Zanzibar Elimination of Schistosomiasis Transmission
(ZEST) project in early 2013. The Zanzibar archipelago is deemed a setting where elimination
of urogenital schistosomiasis is feasible and where a series of control measures, including bian-
nual mass drug administration (MDA), snail control, and behavioral change interventions, are
currently being implemented to achieve this goal and to learn about which intervention works
best [6,31–33].
Methods
Ethics Statement
The study was approved by the Zanzibar Medical Research Ethics Committee (ZAMREC) in
Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania (reference no. ZAMREC 0003/Sept/011), the ethics
committee of Basel, Switzerland (reference no. EKBB 236/11), and the Institutional Review
Board of the University of Georgia in the United States of America (project no. 2012-10138-0)
[31]. The study is registered with the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial
Number register (identifier: ISRCTN48837681).
The purpose of collecting urine samples and potentially storing them for examination with
newly developed and more sensitive diagnostic techniques was outlined in the participant in-
formation sheet that was explained in lay terms to the children in school and distributed to
the parents for their information when asked to provide written informed consent on behalf
of children’s participation in the study. All school-aged children were offered praziquantel
(40 mg/kg) against schistosomiasis and albendazole (400 mg) against soil-transmitted helmin-
thiasis free of charge in the frame of the island-wide MDA campaigns conducted in June 2013
and November 2013 as part of the elimination interventions.
Study Area
The Zanzibar archipelago consist of two main islands, Unguja and Pemba, which are located in
the Indian Ocean, approximately 70 km East and 180 km North-East, respectively, from Dar es
Salaam, the economic capital of the United Republic of Tanzania located on the mainland’s
coast. According to the 2012 population and housing census, Unguja consists of 210 and
Pemba of 121 administrative areas (shehias) with an approximate combined population of
1.3 million inhabitants [35]. Achieving elimination of urogenital schistosomiasis as public
health problem on Pemba and interruption of transmission on Unguja are the goals of the
Zanzibar president, the Ministry of Health, and an alliance of institutions, including the Schis-
tosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation (SCORE), WHO, the Schisto-
somiasis Control Initiative (SCI), the Natural History Museum (NHM), and the Swiss Tropical
and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) [31,33]. Since early 2012, biannual MDA on the whole
islands and additionally snail control and behavior change interventions in selected communi-
ties have been implemented to achieve the primary goals and to learn lessons about which in-
tervention combination works best for elimination.
In the frame of a three-arm multi-year intervention trial funded by SCORE, annual parasi-
tological surveys are carried out in 45 randomly selected shehias on both Unguja and Pemba to
assess the extent of S. haematobium infections in school children and adults [31]. The urine
samples used for the diagnostic investigations presented here were collected from children
aged 9–12 years visiting primary schools in 16 shehias on Pemba Island between March and
May 2013, more than 3 months after the last round of MDA that had been carried out in early
November 2012. All urine samples were examined in the laboratories of the Public Health Lab-
oratory-Ivo de Carneri (PHL-IdC) in Chake Chake, Pemba.
Field Procedures
In each primary school, the headmaster and teachers were informed about the aims of the
study. Classes of standards 3 and 4 were visited by the field team of the PHL-IdC and the pur-
pose of the study was explained in lay terms to the children. All children aged 9–12 years were
asked to line up, stratified by boys and girls, and every third child was selected to participate in
the study until 130 children were reached. The name, age, sex, and additional demographic in-
formation of these children were recorded and they received an information sheet and a con-
sent form to bring to their parents. If the parents agreed that their child participated, the
children were asked to return the signed consent form the following day. After collection of the
signed consent forms by the field team, children received a urine collection container (120 ml)
and were asked to fill it with their own urine (urine collection occurred between 10 a.m. and
12 a.m.) and to give the filled containers to the field team.
Laboratory Procedures
At the day of collection, between March and May 2013, all urine samples of sufficient amount
(at least 10 ml) were examined by trained laboratory technicians for microhematuria using re-
agent strips (Hemastix; Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics GmbH, Eschborn, Germany), and for
the presence and number of eggs detected under a microscope using the urine filtration meth-
od with polycarbonate filters (Sterlitech, Kent, WA, United States of America). All urine filters
were covered with hydrophilic cellophane soaked in glycerol solution and the slides were stored
for a potential second reading for quality control.
At the day of collection, if a sufficiently large amount of urine was submitted, 1.8 ml of
urine was frozen and stored at -20°C from children with IDs 1–100 from each shehia for
future examinations, before subjecting to reagent strip testing and urine filtration. The frozen
samples from children from the 16 shehias selected for this study were examined with the
UCAA2000 or UCAA250 assays in November 2013 at PHL-IdC. Four laboratory technicians
received an in-depth training for preparation of samples and how to conduct the UCAA2000
and UCAA250 tests by two of the authors (PLAMC and GJvD) at PHL-IdC. Supervised by,
and in collaboration with a trained post-doctoral fellow (CIC), the technicians examined the
samples as described elsewhere [26,27] blinded to the reagent strip and initial urine filtration
reading results.
In brief, for the UCAA2000 procedure, 1.5 ml of urine was mixed with 1.5 ml of 4% tri-
chloro-acetic acid (TCA) in a 10-ml tube and centrifuged at 4,000 revolutions per min (rpm)
using a table centrifuge (Hettich Universal 320 centrifuge; Tuttlingen, Germany) for 15 min.
From each tube, 2.8 ml of the supernatant was added to an Amicon Ultra-4 Centrifugal Filter
Device (Merck Millipore) and centrifuged at 4,000 rpm for 30–45 min. From the concentrate,
20 μl were added to a tube placed in a 96-wells rack, which contained dried UCP-conjugate
that was resuspended in 100 μl of assay buffer. After incubation at 37°C at 900 rpm for 1 h on a
microtiter-plate thermo-shaker (L079; Kisker Biotech GmbH & Co; Steinfort, Germany), one
lateral flow strip was placed into the solution. After the solution’s volume had been soaked up
and run through the strip, it was left in the tube to dry for at least 2 h (usually overnight). The
following day, the strips were read in a portable strip reader (UCP-Quant: QIAGEN Lake Con-
stance GmbH; Hilden, Germany) [27]. Scans were analyzed with Lateral Flow Studio version
3.03.05 (QIAGEN Lake Constance GmbH; Hilden, Germany). A similar procedure was fol-
lowed for the UCAA250, except that the Amicon Ultra-0.5 Centrifugal Filter Devices were
loaded two times, allowing a sample volume of 1 ml supernatant (representing 500 μl urine) to
be tested. The devices were centrifuged in a benchtop microcentrifuge (Eppendorf Mini Spin;
Hamburg, Germany) at 14,000 rpm for 2 x 15 min.
The stored urine filtration slides from all individuals, whose urines were examined with a
UCP-LF CAA test, were retrospectively re-read between November 2013 and January 2014 by
a post-doctoral fellow (CIC) blinded to the reagent strip, initial urine filtration, and UCP-LF
CAA results. This second reading is indicated as quality control urine filtration (QCUF).
Prevalence School Number of children Females Males Median (range) age S. haematobium %
level examined (years) positive
<2% Ng'ombeni 105 53 52 10 (9–11) 1 1.0
Kengeja 91 52 39 10 (9–12) 1 1.1
Kangani 125 71 54 11 (10–12) 2 1.6
Wesha 116 65 51 11 (9–13) 2 1.7
Chanjamjawiri 112 60 52 11 (9–12) 2 1.8
Kwale 109 64 45 11 (9–12) 2 1.8
Mbuzini 109 50 59 11 (8–12) 2 1.8
Mtambile 109 70 39 10 (9–12) 2 1.8
2–5% Wawi 103 52 51 10 (9–12) 3 2.9
Ole 122 68 54 11 (8–12) 4 3.3
Makangale 90 57 33 11 (9–12) 3 3.3
Mkanyageni 123 74 49 11 (9–12) 6 4.9
5–10% Konde A 118 66 52 11 (9–12) 6 5.1
Ngwachani 93 48 45 11 (9–12) 6 6.5
Kinowe 121 60 61 11 (9–12) 8 6.6
Shungi 94 42 52 11 (9–12) 8 8.5
Total 1,740 952 788 11 58 3.3
Primary schools from Pemba selected to be included in the study according to the initial S. haematobium prevalence results as determined with a single
urine filtration reading at the day of sample collection between March and May 2013.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.t001
an individual was regarded as true-positive when the QCUF and/or UCAA2000+ indicated a S.
haematobium infection. A test specificity of 100% was assumed for each method. The sensitivi-
ty of each individual test was determined by calculating the proportion of positives that were
correctly identified by the test when compared to the imperfect ‘gold’ standard. The sensitivity
of all diagnostic tests was calculated for (i) combined data from all individuals included into
the final analysis and (ii) stratified data according to the originally selected different prevalence
levels (<2%, 2–5%, and 5–10%). To assess a correlation between CAA pg/ml levels and the
number of eggs detected in 10 ml urines or microhematuria grading identified with reagent
strips, we applied the non-parametric Spearman’s rank correlation test.
In the second approach, in the absence of a true ‘gold’ standard, we used LCA to estimate
the sensitivity, specificity, and model estimated prevalences for reagent strip, QCUF, and
UCAA2000 [37–39]. Four LCA models were applied and validated. The exact procedure is pre-
sented in a supplementary file (S1 Models) and model details have been described by Ibironke
and colleagues (2012) [38]. The four LCA models were fitted using MPlus V7 [36] with full in-
formation maximum likelihood estimation and assuming that data were missing at random.
We included the indecisive results of the UCAA2000 in all LCA models by considering them as
‘missing’ and not forcing them in a positive or negative category [40]. The four LCA models
were evaluated according to the lowest Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and Akaike infor-
mation criterion (AIC) as indications of the best model fit and parsimony in combination with
different biological plausible scenarios and tests of assumptions. In the results section, we pres-
ent results from LCA model 1 (Table S1, Model 1 in S1 Models).
Table 2. S. haematobium prevalences in children visiting 16 primary schools on Pemba in 2013, stratified by diagnostic approach.
UF: initial urine filtration at the day of sample collection between March and May 2013; QCUF: second reading of the urine filtration slide for quality control
purposes between November 2013 and January 2014; UCP-LF CAA: up-converting phosphor-lateral flow assay detecting circulating anodic antigen in
urine; UCAA2000+: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 1.5 ml of urine, indecisive results were considered as positive; UCAA2000-: UCP-LF CAA prepared with
1.5 ml of urine, indecisive results were considered as negative; UCAA250+: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 250 μl of urine, indecisive results were
considered as positive; UCAA250-: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 250 μl of urine, indecisive results were considered as negative.
*Only participants with a UCAA2000 were included in analysis.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.t002
Results
Operational Results
To meet the prevalence thresholds and sample size for the study, we selected eight primary
schools with a prevalence of S. haematobium <2%, four schools with a prevalence of 2–5%,
and four schools with a prevalence of 5–10% based on single urine filtration readings per child
(Table 1). From the 16 selected schools, 2,067 children were randomly selected to participate in
the annual parasitological survey in 2013. Among them, 298 did not provide written informed
consent from their parents and were therefore not asked to submit a urine sample (Fig 1). An
additional 29 children did not submit a urine sample of a sufficiently large amount to perform
reagent strip and urine filtration examinations. Hence, the initial S. haematobium prevalence at
Fig 1. Flowchart detailing study participation and urine sampling procedures. Flowchart indicating the
inclusion and exclusion of data for determining the accuracy of different methods for the diagnosis of
Schistosoma haematobium in children from Pemba, United Republic of Tanzania, in 2013. UCP-LF CAA: up-
converting phosphor-lateral flow assay detecting circulating anodic antigen in urine; UCAA2000: UCP-LF
CAA prepared with 1.5 ml of urine; UCAA250: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 250 μl of urine.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.g001
the unit of the school was calculated from single urine filtration results of 1,740 children.
Among the 1,740 children examined with the initial urine filtration and reagent strip, 444 had
no urine sample stored for future analysis, and 12 urine filtration slides were not available for
reexamination by the quality control reader. Finally, UCP-LF CAA and QCUF readings were
available from 1,284 children. The UCAA2000 and UCAA250 were applied on 1,200 and
84 urine samples, respectively.
The sample sizes of the UCAA2000 tests for prevalence settings <2%, 2–5%, and 5–10%
were 546, 326, and 328, respectively. While the numbers for the latter two prevalence settings
are in line with our initial sample size calculation, there were fewer UCAA2000 tests performed
for the lowest prevalence settings. This is due to interim analyses, which revealed that the prev-
alence outcomes obtained with the UCAA2000 in these very low prevalence settings were
seven times higher than those based on a single urine filtration, and hence the sample size
could be lowered to around 500 UCAA2000 tests. The UCAA250 was performed to gather new
information on a different approach, which is potentially less complicated to perform in re-
source-constrained settings.
Fig 2. Maps indicating Schistosoma haematobium prevalence levels according to different diagnostic tests. The two maps indicate different S.
haematobium prevalence levels as identified with a single urine filtration method (A) and a urine-based up-converting phosphor-lateral flow circulating anodic
antigen (UCAA2000) assay (B) in 16 schools on Pemba island, United Republic of Tanzania, in 2013. UCAA2000: up-converting phosphor-lateral flow assay
detecting circulating anodic antigen in urine and prepared with 1.5 ml of urine; green spot: school with a prevalence of <2%; yellow spot: school with a
prevalence of 2–5%; orange spot: school with a prevalence of 5-<10%; red spot: school with a prevalence of 10%.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.g002
schools stratified to each endemicity level (Table 2). The QCUF reading revealed slightly higher
average prevalences of 2.6%, 4.6% and 8.5%, respectively, and reagent strips of 1.8%, 5.8%, and
6.1%, respectively. Considerably higher prevalences for individual schools and average preva-
lences according to endemicity level were revealed by the UCAA2000. Considering indecisive
results as negative, the UCAA2000- indicated average prevalences of 10.1%, 12.0% and 19.8%,
respectively, for the three endemicity levels. Considering indecisive results as positive, the
UCAA2000+ indicated average prevalences of 14.8%, 17.2% and 24.7%, respectively.
QCUF
UF Positive Negative Total
Positive 40 1 41
Negative 17 1,142 1,159
Total 57 1,143 1,200
QCUF
Reagent strip Positive Negative Total
Positive 31 18 49
Negative 26 1,125 1,151
Total 57 1,143 1,200
QCUF
UCAA2000 Positive Negative Total
Positive 45 114 159
Indecisive 1 58 59
Negative 11 971 982
Total 57 1,143 1,200
Reagent strip
UCAA2000 Positive Negative Total
Positive 35 124 159
Indecisive 2 57 59
Negative 12 970 982
Total 49 1,151 1,200
Four-cell and six-cell-matrixes showing the agreement of the number of positive, negative, and indecisive
results of the initial urine filtration (UF), the quality control slide reading (QCUF), the reagent strips, and the
up-converting phosphor-lateral flow assay detecting circulating anodic antigen in urine (UCAA2000)
methods for the diagnosis of S. haematobium in urine samples from children from 16 primary schools in
Pemba, United Republic of Tanzania in 2013.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.t003
Table 4. Diagnostic accuracy of the tests used to detect S. haematobium infections stratified by prevalence setting.
Diagnostic accuracy of reagent strips, quality control urine filtration slide reading (QCUF), and the up-converting phosphor-lateral flow assay detecting
circulating anodic antigen in urine methods (UCAA2000+, and UCAA2000-) for S. haematobium detection as calculated by comparison against an
imperfect ‘gold’ standard (i.e., the combination of UCAA2000+ and QCUF results), stratified by prevalence setting in our study conducted in Pemba,
United Republic of Tanzania in 2013.
QCUF: second reading of the urine filtration slide for quality control purposes between November 2013 and January 2014; UCP-LF CAA: up-converting
phosphor-lateral flow assay detecting circulating anodic antigen in urine; UCAA2000+: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 1.5 ml of urine, indecisive results were
considered as positive; UCAA2000-: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 1.5 ml of urine, indecisive results were considered as negative; UCAA250+: UCP-LF
CAA prepared with 250 μl of urine, indecisive results were considered as positive; UCAA250-: UCP-LF CAA prepared with 250 μl of urine, indecisive
results were considered as negative; GM: geometric mean
*: Test specificity was assumed to be 100%.
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.t004
CAA pg/ml levels and microhematuria grading (Spearman’s rho = 0.23; p<0.001), and be-
tween egg counts and microhematuria grading (Spearman’s rho = 0.57; p<0.001).
Fig 3. Correlation of circulating anodic antigen (CAA) levels and S. haematobium egg counts or
microhematuria grading. (A) Correlation of CAA levels (pg/ml) in 1.5 ml of urine and the number of S.
haematobium eggs detected in 10 ml of urine (Spearman’s rho = 0.24; P <0.001); (B) correlation of CAA
levels (pg/ml) and the microhematuria grading (Spearman’s rho = 0.23; P <0.001); and (C) correlation of S.
haematobium eggs detected and microhematuria grading (Spearman’s rho = 0.57; p<0.001), in urine
samples from children from Pemba, United Republic of Tanzania, collected in 2013. The horizontal
continuous red line indicates the cut-off value of >0.4 pg/ml for samples clearly indicated as S. haematobium-
positive by the UCAA2000 (A and B). The horizontal dotted red line indicates the cut-off value of <0.2 pg/ml
for samples clearly indicated as S. haematobium-negative by the UCAA2000 (A and B). Values right from the
vertical continuous red line (A) and above the horizontal continuous red line (C) indicate egg-positive urine
filtration tests
doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0003752.g003
and UCAA2000 (90.1%, 95% CI: 88.3–91.9%). The model estimated S. haematobium preva-
lence including all schools was 4.5%.
Discussion
Enhanced efforts to achieve the schistosomiasis control and elimination goals put forth by
WHO for the years 2020 and 2025 will likely reduce the Schistosoma prevalence and infection
intensities in targeted populations. To discover and investigate continuing transmission and to
reliably confirm schistosomiasis elimination without missing very light infection intensities, di-
agnostic tools with high sensitivity and specificity are needed [11,19–22,41].
We assessed the accuracy of the UCAA2000 assay for S. haematobium diagnosis in low-en-
demicity settings on Pemba Island. Based on a single urine filtration, we selected schools with a
prevalence of S. haematobium <2%, 2–5%, and 5–10%. LCA revealed an overall sensitivity and
specificity of a single UCAA2000 of 97.0% and 90.1%, single QCUF of 85.5% and 99.1%, and
single reagent strips of 66.7% and 98.9%, respectively, and a model estimated prevalence of
4.5%. No significant drop in the empirical sensitivity from highest to lowest investigated en-
demicity scenario was revealed, but we observed a clear tendency of decreasing sensitivity of
particularly the QCUF and reagent strip test results with lower prevalence and geometric mean
egg count levels. The overall S. haematobium prevalence empirically determined with the
UCAA2000+, UCAA2000-, urine filtration, and reagent strips were 18.2%, 13.3%, 4.8%, and
4.1%, respectively.
Our results show that empirically, a single UCAA2000 test detects a considerably higher S.
haematobium prevalence than microscopy or reagent strips. Even if indecisive results obtained
with the UCAA2000 were considered as negative, the overall S. haematobium prevalence was
almost three times higher than that elucidated by QCUF. Particularly evident were the differ-
ences in the lowest endemicity setting, where UCAA2000+ and UCAA2000- revealed preva-
lences of 14.8% and 10.1%, respectively, while QCUF and reagent strips found considerably
lower prevalences of 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively. If indeed correct, this finding would have im-
portant ramifications for the schistosomiasis elimination program in Zanzibar. Since egg out-
put and microhematuria were reasonably low, according to the current definitions, elimination
of schistosomiasis as a public health problem had been reached and the setting was on the way
toward interruption of transmission. The UCAA2000 revealed, however that more than 10% of
the surveyed population excreted CAA and thus harbored living worms, which potentially
could produce eggs at some point passed in urine. Given these persistent very low intensity
infections in the presence of ongoing control interventions and the potential for disease recru-
descence or the parasite’s reintroduction into parasite-free environments also by very modest
external inputs, the situation would require an adequate response in terms of more effective lo-
cally targeted control strategies [42].
The model estimated overall S. haematobium prevalence, in contrast, was only 4.5%, taking
into account an imperfect specificity of the UCAA2000, which was estimated by LCA at 90.1%.
Considering this imperfect specificity, a considerable amount of S. haematobium cases detected
by the UCAA2000 might have been false-positives. However, a specificity of 90.1% is below the
specificity of circulating antigen assays and the UCP-LF CAA test as postulated elsewhere
[27,29,43,44]. Moreover, studies with the UCAA2000 in non-endemic African settings using
samples from previous studies, banked at Leiden University Medical Center revealed that no
false-positives were detected by the method. One also has to note that CAA is released by living
worms that might or might not produce eggs. In case children were reached by the latest MDA
conducted in November 2012 and knowing that CAA clears within a few days or weeks after
successful treatment [45, 46], it might be that the CAA-positive results in the egg-negative
urines collected between March and May 2013 indicate worms that survived but were sterilized
by the previous praziquantel treatment, or worms that were schistosomula at the time of treat-
ment and not affected by praziquantel, or new infections with schistosomes that were not yet
producing eggs. Since we were working in an elimination setting where transmission is mostly
low, it might also be that CAA-positive but egg-negative individuals were infected with single
worms rather than worm pairs, and hence no eggs were produced. The sensitivity of the
UCAA2000 of 97.0% determined with the LCA and of the UCAA2000+ of 95.2% determined
with an imperfect ‘gold’ standard in our study, is in line with findings from the People’s Repub-
lic of China, where the UCAA2000+ sensitivity for S. japonicum detection was 93% [29].
A limitation of our study and approaches to estimate sensitivity and specificity is that the
UCAA2000 was only compared to two diagnostic techniques with a limited accuracy, particu-
larly for examining samples from a low-endemic area and when only a single urine sample was
examined. Clearly, the UCAA2000 has a very high sensitivity and a sufficient specificity to
serve as a tool for diagnosing urogenital schistosomiasis in low-endemicity settings targeting
elimination. Whether its specificity is high enough to deserve also the title “confirmation of
elimination tool” remains to be elucidated in future studies comparing its performance not
only with microscopy and reagent strips but also with more accurate methods, for example
with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [47], in a similar close-to-elimination setting.
The considerable number of “potentially positive” individuals determined by “indecisive”
UCAA2000 results is another limitation of our study. Indecisive results appeared due to the se-
lection of a higher specificity and a lower specificity cut-off. As described in Corstjens et al.
(2014), the cut-off thresholds may be influenced by technical factors such as batch-to-batch
variation, as well as (immuno-)epidemiological settings (e.g., co-infections, age, and geogra-
phy) [27]. In the current setting, suboptimal sample volume and centrifugation capacities were
considered the main reason for the need of a higher cut-off threshold. Moreover, the definition
of a precise cut-off for any UCP-LF CAA approach is pending and can only be developed for
large reagent strip batches and by testing a large number of clearly uninfected people from en-
demic and non-endemic settings. Currently, to obtain a clear result for potentially positive in-
dividuals, their urine sample would either need to be repeatedly tested with the UCAA2000, or
larger amounts of their urines would need to be examined, for example with the UCAA7500,
which has a lower detection limit of 0.03 pg/ml [27], or their CAA level could be retested after
praziquantel treatment to investigate whether it decreased.
It is worth mentioning that a rigorous second examination of the urine filtration slides by
an experienced slide reader (i.e., QCUF) revealed a higher number of S. haematobium egg-posi-
tive slides than the initial urine filtration reading of the same slides by local technicians. This
finding confirms that (i) the glycerol soaked cellophane cover method we used to preserve our
urine filtration slides for more than 6 months for quality control purposes works; and (ii) that
conducting quality control of urine filtration slides is essential to achieve more reliable results
for studies on diagnostic accuracy as well as for prevalence estimates in schistosomiasis control
and elimination programs.
Our study shows that the UCAA2000 is a highly sensitive diagnostic tool that is able to diag-
nose S. haematobium infections in very low endemicity settings. The dry format allows conve-
nient transport of dry reagents without a cold chain to third-party laboratories [27]. The assay
can be implemented by trained local technicians in laboratories in endemic settings, given they
are adequately equipped such as the PHL-IdC in Pemba. When sufficient centrifugation capac-
ities and a UCP-Quant reader are available, up to 100 samples can be processed by one techni-
cian per day, and hence, the test has a higher throughput than parasitological approaches
requiring microscopy. However, in the current format, the UCAA2000 cannot be applied in
field laboratories without centrifugation and pipetting capacities.
Moreover, the costs for a single UCAA2000 are high and the test is not commercialized.
Hence, at the time being, this test is out of reach for most control programs and large-scale
studies in endemic areas, but is only used in collaborative projects. Efforts to develop a simple-
to-use but still highly sensitive point-of-care (POC)-CAA rapid test for commercialization at
an affordable price are underway.
One also has to consider that the UCAA2000 is a highly sensitive test to reflect active infec-
tion, but that it does not encapsulate morbidity. In low endemic settings, where the primary
aim is to assess transmission, this test holds particular potential. For indicating morbidity
caused by urogenital schistosomiasis, rapid tests such as reagent strips showing the grade of he-
maturia, and detecting proteinuria and leukocyturia or urine albumin and creatinine have clear
advantages [22,48,49].
Once standardized, commercialized, and widely available at reasonable costs, we consider
the UCAA2000 as a suitable tool for large-scale monitoring of urogenital schistosomiasis in
control programs in low-endemicity settings targeting elimination and for surveillance in areas
that achieved elimination. For surveillance at a smaller scale, including testing of suspected
cases in remote public health care centres without laboratory equipment, a simple-to-use but
still highly sensitive POC-CAA rapid test is highly desirable.
Supporting Information
S1 Checklist. STARD checklist.
(PDF)
S1 Data. Dataset used for analysis of the data presented in this manuscript.
(PDF)
S1 Models. Latent class analysis (LCA) modeling approaches for sensitivity and specificity
estimation.
(PDF)
S1 Translation. Translation of abstract into Dutch, French, and German.
(PDF)
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation
(SCORE) secretariat for advisory support. We thank the staff of the SCORE parasitology team
in Pemba who helped with the collection and examination of urine samples that were subjected
to reagent strip testing and urine filtration. We are indebted to the laboratory technicians from
Unguja and Pemba, namely Mtumweni A. Muhsin, Mwanaidi A. Khamis, Asha S. Hassan, and
Abdalla M. Omar who prepared and analyzed the stored urine samples with the UCP-LF CAA
tests. We would also like to thank Muriel Rabone for creating the maps for Fig 2. Last but not
least, we acknowledge the children visiting primary schools in Pemba for their participation in
the study.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: SK PLAMC SMAl KAM JU DR GJvD. Performed
the experiments: SK PLAMC CIC SMAm CJdD DR GJvD. Analyzed the data: SK AK GJvD.
Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: SK PLAMC AK SMAl CJdD KAM DR GJvD.
Wrote the paper: SK PLAMC AK CIC SMAm SMAl CJdD KAM JU DR GJvD.
References
1. Utzinger J, Keiser J. Research and development for neglected diseases: more is still needed, and
faster. Lancet Glob Health. 2013; 1: e317. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(13)70148-7 PMID: 25104587
2. Molyneux DH. Neglected tropical diseases: now more than just 'other diseases'—the post-2015 agen-
da. Int Health. 2014; 6: 172–180. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihu037 PMID: 24969646
3. Multiple Partners. Uniting to combat neglected tropical diseases. Ending the neglect & reaching 2020
goals. Table of commitments. London, United Kingdom. 30 January 2012. Available: https://www.gov.
uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/67442/NTD_20Event_20-_20Table_
20of_20Commitments.pdf. Accessed: 14 April 2015.
4. Stothard JR, Stanton MC, Bustinduy AL, Sousa-Figueiredo JC, van Dam GJ, Betson M, et al. Diagnos-
tics for schistosomiasis in Africa and Arabia: a review of present options in control and future needs for
elimination. Parasitology. 2014; 141: 1947–1961. doi: 10.1017/S0031182014001152 PMID: 25158604
5. WHO. Schistosomiasis: progress report 2001–2011 and strategic plan 2012–2020. Geneva: World
Health Organization; 2013. pp 1–80.
6. Rollinson D, Knopp S, Levitz S, Stothard JR, Tchuem Tchuenté LA, Garba A, et al. Time to set the
agenda for schistosomiasis elimination. Acta Trop. 2013; 128: 423–440. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.
2012.04.013 PMID: 22580511
7. Utzinger J, Raso G, Brooker S, de Savigny D, Tanner M, Ornbjerg N, et al. Schistosomiasis and ne-
glected tropical diseases: towards integrated and sustainable control and a word of caution. Parasitolo-
gy. 2009; 136: 1859–1874. doi: 10.1017/S0031182009991600 PMID: 19906318
8. WHO. Neglected tropical diseases. Prevention, control, elimination and eradication. Provisional agen-
da item 9.2. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012. pp 1–10.
9. Grimes JET, Croll D, Harrison WE, Utzinger J, Freeman MC, Templeton MR. The relationship between
water, sanitation and schistosomiasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Negl Trop Dis.
2014; 8: e3296. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003296 PMID: 25474705
10. King CH. Toward the elimination of schistosomiasis. N Engl J Med. 2009; 360: 106–109. doi: 10.1056/
NEJMp0808041 PMID: 19129524
11. Bergquist R, Johansen MV, Utzinger J. Diagnostic dilemmas in helminthology: what tools to use and
when? Trends Parasitol. 2009; 25: 151–156. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2009.01.004 PMID: 19269899
12. Lustigman S, Prichard RK, Gazzinelli A, Grant WN, Boatin BA, McCarthy JS, et al. A research agenda
for helminth diseases of humans: the problem of helminthiases. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012; 6: e1582.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001582 PMID: 22545164
13. Katz N, Chaves A, Pellegrino J. A simple device for quantitative stool thick-smear technique in schisto-
somiasis mansoni. Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo. 1972; 14: 397–400.
14. Peters PA, Mahmoud AA, Warren KS, Ouma JH, Siongok TK. Field studies of a rapid, accurate means
of quantifying Schistosoma haematobium eggs in urine samples. Bull World Health Organ. 1976; 54:
159–162. PMID: 1088097
15. King CH, Bertsch D. Meta-analysis of urine heme dipstick diagnosis of Schistosoma haematobium in-
fection, including low-prevalence and previously-treated populations. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2013; 7:
e2431. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002431 PMID: 24069486
16. Booth M, Vounatsou P, N'Goran EK, Tanner M, Utzinger J. The influence of sampling effort and the per-
formance of the Kato-Katz technique in diagnosing Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm co-infections
in rural Côte d'Ivoire. Parasitology. 2003; 127: 525–531. PMID: 14700188
17. Koukounari A, Donnelly CA, Moustaki I, Tukahebwa EM, Kabatereine NB, Wilson S, et al. A latent Mar-
kov modelling approach to the evaluation of circulating cathodic antigen strips for schistosomiasis diag-
nosis pre- and post-praziquantel treatment in Uganda. PLoS Comput Biol. 2013; 9: e1003402. doi: 10.
1371/journal.pcbi.1003402 PMID: 24367250
18. McCarthy JS, Lustigman S, Yang GJ, Barakat RM, García HH, Sripa B, et al. A research agenda for hel-
minth diseases of humans: diagnostics for control and elimination programmes. PLoS Negl Trop Dis.
2012; 6: e1601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001601 PMID: 22545166
19. Solomon AW, Engels D, Bailey RL, Blake IM, Brooker S, Chen JX, et al. A diagnostics platform for the
integrated mapping, monitoring, and surveillance of neglected tropical diseases: rationale and target
product profiles. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012; 6: e1746. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001746 PMID:
22860146
20. Knopp S, Becker S, Ingram K, Keiser J, Utzinger J. Diagnosis and treatment of schistosomiasis in chil-
dren in the era of intensified control. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2013; 11: 1237–1258. doi: 10.1586/
14787210.2013.844066 PMID: 24127662
21. Bergquist R, Yang GJ, Knopp S, Utzinger J, Tanner M. Surveillance and response: tools and ap-
proaches for the elimination stage of neglected tropical diseases. Acta Trop. 2015; 141: 229–234. doi:
10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.09.017 PMID: 25301340
22. Utzinger J, Becker SL, van Lieshout L, van Dam GJ, Knopp S. New diagnostic tools in schistosomiasis.
Clin Microbiol Infect. 2015 Apr 2. pii: S1198-743X(15)00378-X. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2015.03.014
23. Polman K, de Vlas SJ, Gryseels B, Deelder AM. Relating serum circulating anodic antigens to faecal
egg counts in Schistosoma mansoni infections: a modelling approach. Parasitology. 2000; 121 Pt 6:
601–610. PMID: 11155931
24. Corstjens PLAM, van Lieshout L, Zuiderwijk M, Kornelis D, Tanke HJ, Deelder AM, et al. Up-converting
phosphor technology-based lateral flow assay for detection of Schistosoma circulating anodic antigen
in serum. J Clin Microbiol. 2008; 46: 171–176. PMID: 17942645
25. Downs JA, van Dam GJ, Changalucha JM, Corstjens PLAM, Peck RN, de Dood CJ, et al. Association
of schistosomiasis and HIV infection in Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012; 87: 868–873. doi: 10.
4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0395 PMID: 23033399
26. van Dam GJ, de Dood CJ, Lewis M, Deelder AM, van Lieshout L, Tanke HJ, et al. A robust dry reagent
lateral flow assay for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis by detection of Schistosoma circulating anodic
antigen. Exp Parasitol. 2013; 135: 274–282. doi: 10.1016/j.exppara.2013.06.017 PMID: 23850995
27. Corstjens PLAM, de Dood CJ, Kornelis D, Fat EM, Wilson RA, Kariuki TM, et al. Tools for diagnosis,
monitoring and screening of Schistosoma infections utilizing lateral-flow based assays and upconvert-
ing phosphor labels. Parasitology. 2014; 141: 1841–1855. doi: 10.1017/S0031182014000626 PMID:
24932595
28. Corstjens PLAM, Nyakundi RK, de Dood CJ, Kariuki TM, Ochola E, Karanja DM, et al. Improved sensi-
tivity of the urine CAA lateral-flow assay for diagnosing active Schistosoma infections by using larger
sample volumes. Parasit Vectors. 2015; In press.
29. van Dam GJ, Xu J, Bergquist R, de Dood CJ, Utzinger J, Qin ZQ, et al. An ultra-sensitive assay target-
ing the circulating anodic antigen for the diagnosis of Schistosoma japonicum in a low-endemic area,
People's Republic of China. Acta Trop. 2015; 141: 190–197. doi: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2014.08.004
PMID: 25128703
30. van Dam GJ, Odermatt P, Acosta L, Bergquist R, de Dood CJ, Kornelis D, et al. Evaluation of banked
urine samples for the detection of circulating anodic and cathodic antigens in Schistosoma mekongi
and S. japonicum infections: a proof-of-concept study. Acta Trop. 2015; 141: 198–203. doi: 10.1016/j.
actatropica.2014.09.003 PMID: 25225158
31. Knopp S, Mohammed KA, Ali SM, Khamis IS, Ame SM, Albonico M, et al. Study and implementation of
urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba islands) using an integrated
multidisciplinary approach. BMC Public Health. 2012; 12: 930. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-930 PMID:
23110494
32. WHO. Accelerating work to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases—a roadmap for
implementation. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012. pp 1–42.
33. Knopp S, Person B, Ame SM, Mohammed KA, Ali SM, Khamis IS, et al. Elimination of schistosomiasis
transmission in Zanzibar: baseline findings before the onset of a randomized intervention trial. PLoS
Negl Trop Dis. 2013; 7: e2474. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002474 PMID: 24147165
34. Fleiss JL. Statistical methods for rates and proportions. New York: Wiley; 1981. pp 212–236.
35. OCGS. 2012 Population and housing survey of the United Republic of Tanzania. Population distribution
by administrative areas. Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar Town: National Bureau of Statistics and Office
of Chief Government Statistician; 2013. pp 1–21.
36. Muthén LK, Muthén BO. Mplus user's guide. Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén; 2012. pp 1–856.
37. Rindskopf D, Rindskopf W. The value of latent class analysis in medical diagnosis. Stat Med. 1986; 5:
21–27. PMID: 3961312
38. Ibironke O, Koukounari A, Asaolu S, Moustaki I, Shiff C. Validation of a new test for Schistosoma hae-
matobium based on detection of Dra1 DNA fragments in urine: evaluation through latent class analysis.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012; 6: e1464. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001464 PMID: 22235360
39. van Smeden M, Naaktgeboren CA, Reitsma JB, Moons KG, de Groot JA. Latent class models in diag-
nostic studies when there is no reference standard—a systematic review. Am J Epidemiol. 2014; 179:
423–431. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwt286 PMID: 24272278
40. Simel DL, Rennie D, Bossuyt PM. The STARD statement for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies: ap-
plication to the history and physical examination. J Gen Intern Med. 2008; 23: 768–774. doi: 10.1007/
s11606-008-0583-3 PMID: 18347878
41. Colley DG, Bustinduy AL, Secor WE, King CH. Human schistosomiasis. Lancet. 2014; 383: 2253–
2264. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61949-2 PMID: 24698483
42. Spear RC, Seto EYW, Carlton EJ, Liang S, Remais JV, Zhong B, et al. The challenge of effective sur-
veillance in moving from low transmission to elimination of schistosomiasis in China. Int J Parasitol.
2011; 41: 1243–1247. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2011.08.002 PMID: 21920366
43. Polman K, Diakhate MM, Engels D, Nahimana S, van Dam GJ, Falcão Ferreira ST, et al. Specificity of
circulating antigen detection for schistosomiasis mansoni in Senegal and Burundi. Trop Med Int Health.
2000; 5: 534–537. PMID: 10995094
44. Midzi N, Butterworth AE, Mduluza T, Munyati S, Deelder AM, van Dam GJ. Use of circulating cathodic
antigen strips for the diagnosis of urinary schistosomiasis. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2009; 103: 45–
51. doi: 10.1016/j.trstmh.2008.08.018 PMID: 18951599
45. de Jonge N, de Caluwe P, Hilberath GW, Krijger FW, Polderman AM, Deelder AM. Circulating anodic
antigen levels in serum before and after chemotherapy with praziquantel in schistosomiasis mansoni.
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1989; 83: 368–372. PMID: 2515625
46. van Lieshout L, de Jonge N, el-Masry N, Mansour MM, Bassily S, Krijger FW, et al. Monitoring the effi-
cacy of different doses of praziquantel by quantification of circulating antigens in serum and urine of
schistosomiasis patients. Parasitology. 1994; 108: 519–526. PMID: 8052507
47. Vinkeles Melchers NV, van Dam GJ, Shaproski D, Kahama AI, Brienen EA, Vennervald BJ, et al. Diag-
nostic performance of Schistosoma real-time PCR in urine samples from Kenyan children infected with
Schistosoma haematobium: day-to-day variation and follow-up after praziquantel treatment. PLoS
Negl Trop Dis. 2014; 8: e2807. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0002807 PMID: 24743389
48. Stothard JR, Sousa-Figueiredo JC, Khamis IS, Garba A, Rollinson D. Urinary schistosomiasis-associ-
ated morbidity in schoolchildren detected with urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) reagent strips.
J Pediatr Urol. 2009; 5: 287–291. doi: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2008.09.010 PMID: 19168393
49. Stete K, Krauth SJ, Coulibaly JT, Knopp S, Hattendorf J, Müller I, et al. Dynamics of Schistosoma hae-
matobium egg output and associated infection parameters following treatment with praziquantel in
school-aged children. Parasit Vectors. 2012; 5: 298. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-5-298 PMID: 23259435