Quantitative PCR in soil-transmitted helminth epidemiology and control programs: Toward a universal standard
Piet Cools, Johnny Vlaminck, Jaco J. Verweij, Bruno Levecke
Abstract
There is an increased interest to apply quantitative PCR (qPCR) in epidemiological studies and large-scale deworming programs targeting soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), due to important advantages over the current practice of microscopic stool examination (e.g., higher sensitivity and hookworm differentiation) Accordingly, qPCR should provide information on STH prevalence and infection intensity to evaluate progress toward WHO program goals (<2% moderate-to-heavy intensity infections) [2] and the ultimate goal to break transmission in targeted geographical areas However, qPCR is an umbrella term for a plethora of different procedures in which the results are most often expressed in units that do not allow interlaboratory comparison Reporting qPCR results in a universal unit that allows comparison is essential to standardize and compare protocols and subsequently implement qPCR in a programmatic decision algorithm. However, there is currently no consensus on such a universal unit, let alone on how to make international accepted standards available for the community.