Short communication: Epidemiological assessment of Strongyloides stercoralis in Fijian children

As a part of the lymphatic filariasis (LF) transmission assessment survey (TAS)/soil-transmitted helminths (STH) prevalence survey in Western Division of Fiji, a pilot screen for Strongyloides stercoralis (SS) in school children was undertaken using a combination of the Baermann concentration (BC) method and real-time PCR assays. Using BC, faecal samples collected from 111 children of 7 schools were examined. A single child was positive for larvae of SS and underwent a clinical examination finding an asymptomatic infection. Other members of this child's household were screened with BC, finding none infected. Aliquots of 173 faecal samples preserved in ethanol originating from all schools were examined by real-time PCR, and the prevalence of SS infection was 3.5%. Our study confirms the existence of SS infection on Fiji and showed that assessing SS prevalence alongside TAS/STH survey is a convenient access platform, allowing introduction of other surveillance techniques such as BC and real-time PCR.