Diagnosis of human nematode infections

Many hundreds of millions of people throughout the world are infected by nematodes found in the intestine or tissues with a high prevalence in developing countries. Despite their frequency and morbidity, these infections, which may affect migrants and travelers, remain difficult to diagnosis even in developed countries. This is primarily due to the variety of clinical signs often associated with a lack of highly sensitive and specific diagnostic tools. Parasitological diagnosis is often difficult to achieve and can neither be applied during the pre-patent period nor for parasitic impasses. Serological diagnosis is frequently hampered by a lack of specificity due to cross-reaction with others helminthes. Molecular biology methods still require optimization. The diagnostic approach applied by a clinician of a suspected nematode infection is based on a vast set of data including patient history and way of life, clinical examination, non-specific biological tests and, when available, specific diagnostic tests.