Proposed morbidity markers among Schistosoma mansoni patients

BACKGROUND: Fecal calprotectin (FC) and fecal occult blood (FOB) were suggested as potential inflammatory markers for assessing intestinal schistosomiasis morbidity that are conventionally detected through invasive methods. AIM AND OBJECTIVES: The present work aimed to evaluate FC and FOB as morbidity markers of Schistosoma mansoni infection before and after praziquantel treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 205 stool samples (117 schoolchildren and 88 adults) were collected and examined by Kato Katz. A questionnaire enquiring about diarrhea, history of blood in stool, and abdominal pain was designed and applied. RESULTS: S. mansoni prevalence rates were 20.5% and 11.36% among children and adults, respectively; the majority of cases had light infection intensity. FC and FOB were studied among 25 cured S. mansoni cases (17 children and 8 adults) pre and one-month post treatment. Before treatment, six and four children of moderate and high S. mansoni infection intensity tested positive for FC and FOB, respectively, all turning negative after treatment. FC showed borderline statistical significance before and after treatment among children. However, all adults tested negative for FC and FOB. CONCLUSION: FC and FOB could be possibly used as morbidity monitoring tools for S. mansoni infection in children with moderate and high infection intensity.