GHIT Fund invests in new partnership for diagnosis of schistosomiasis

DTECT-Schisto stands for Diagnostic Tools for Elimination and Control programs Targeting Schistosomiasis. GHIT’s funding will support what is known as a “proof-of-concept” study that will seek to select and validate specific parasitic antigens for assessment of schistosome-directed antibodies in patient blood or urine. At the end of this two-year concept development study, researchers will provide a shortlist of validated protein and/or glycan antigens with diagnostic performance in serum and urine. This will be the starting point for technical feasibility studies.

Schistosomiasis is an infection caused by exposure to parasitic blood fluke worms that develop and multiply in freshwater snails, which is why it is sometimes called “snail fever.” Some 90 percent of infections occur in Africa, where safe water is often scarce. While rarely fatal, left untreated, the disease can cause anemia, stunted growth, learning impairments and chronic inflammation of the liver and spleen. According to the WHO, more than 206 million people required treatment for schistosomiasis in 2016—usually with praziquantel, the gold standard treatment. However, in order to successfully fight and ultimately eliminate schistosomiasis, it is also essential to monitor and detect new and reoccurring cases. That piece of the puzzle is impaired by a lack of affordable, sensitive, user-friendly field tests, as existing diagnostics do a poor job of detecting low levels of the disease.

Click here to read GHIT's press release, which also describes GHIT's investments in other NTDs, TB and Malaria.