Authors

B Webster¹;  ¹ Natural History Museum, UK

Discussion

Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) is a neglected tropical disease caused by Schistosoma species, significantly impacting women's reproductive health in endemic regions. Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective management and reducing long-term complications. However, current diagnostic methods are limited by low sensitivity, invasive sample collection, and the need for advanced laboratory infrastructure. To address these challenges, we explore the development and application of point-of-care molecular diagnostics focusing on Recombinase Polymerase Amplification (RPA) and Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP).
These isothermal amplification techniques offer rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of Schistosoma DNA directly from genital samples without the need for extensive equipment. RPA and LAMP are well-suited for low-resource settings, providing results in under an hour with minimal training. RPA’s portability and LAMP’s high specificity make them ideal candidates for integration into point-of-care platforms. This approach could revolutionize FGS diagnostics, enabling timely treatment and improving disease management in affected populations. Our presentation discusses the potential of RPA and LAMP in enhancing FGS diagnostic capabilities. We will present data from previous studies that have evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a RPA platform, on FGS samples, compared to standard/reference standard qPCR methodologies. Looking forward we will discuss the necessity for further platform optimisation with an integrated approach that also standardises sample taking, preservation and processing to enable high quality diagnostic assessments.