Proposed morbidity markers among Schistosoma mansoni patients

Fecal calprotectin (FC) and fecal occult blood (FOB) were suggested as potential inflammatory markers for assessing intestinal schistosomiasis morbidity that are conventionally detected through invasive methods. The present work aimed to evaluate FC and FOB as morbidity markers of infection before and after praziquantel treatment. A total of 205 stool samples (117 schoolchildren and 88 adults) were collected and examined by Kato Katz. A questionnaire enquiring about diarrhea, history of blood in stool, and abdominal pain was designed and applied. prevalence rates were 20.5% and 11.36% among children and adults, respectively; the majority of cases had light infection intensity. FC and FOB were studied among 25 cured cases (17 children and 8 adults) pre and one-month post treatment. Before treatment, six and four children of moderate and high infection intensity tested positive for FC and FOB, respectively, all turning negative after treatment. FC showed borderline statistical significance before and after treatment among children. However, all adults tested negative for FC and FOB. FC and FOB could be possibly used as morbidity monitoring tools for infection in children with moderate and high infection intensity.