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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assays for the Species-specific Detection of Eimeria that Infect Chickens
Published on: February 20, 2015
Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Schistosoma mansoni in the Intermediate Snail Hosts Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal
Hong-Mei Li1, Zhi-Qiang Qin1, Shan Lv1
1National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Chinese Center for Tropical Diseases Research), NHC Key Laboratory of Parasite and Vector Biology, WHO Collaborating Centre for Tropical Diseases, National Center for International Research on Tropical Diseases, Shanghai 200025, China.
Abstract:
Schistosomiasis is an important snail-borne neglected tropical disease, and detecting infected snails is a priority for its control and elimination. However, conventional parasitological methods, such as crushed snails and cercarial shedding, have limited sensitivity. In this study, we developed a novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay (smND1-LAMP) targeting the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) gene of Schistosoma mansoni. The assay was optimized at 65 °C for 1 h and demonstrated a detection limit of one copy of the pUC57/smND1 recombinant plasmid. Its diagnostic performance was evaluated using laboratory-infected Biomphalaria snails and field-collected samples from Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso, and compared with microscopy, conventional PCR and SYBR Green real-time PCR (SGPCR). In laboratory experiments, smND1-LAMP achieved 100% specificity and 75% sensitivity, outperforming microscopy and showing a similar performance to SGPCR. In field surveys, smND1-LAMP detected a higher positive rate (25.9%) than conventional PCR (22.2%) in Burkina Faso, while microscopy failed to identify any positive snails. Both molecular methods identified infections that were missed by parasitological techniques. These findings demonstrate that smND1-LAMP assay is a sensitive, specific, and field-applicable tool for detecting S. mansoni infection in snails. It provides an effective alternative for routine surveillance and early warning of changing schistosomiasis endemicity.
