Inapplicability of urinary beta-glucuronidase determination as a field test of cure of urinary bilharziasis.

At present there is no reliable test for use under field conditions for assessing cure in schistosomal infections. It had previously been found that in such infections the excretion of beta-glucuronidase in the urine is increased, but a test based on this fact would be impracticable in the field because of the need to collect accurate 24-hour urine samples. An attempt was therefore made to utilize the difference between the diurnal patterns of beta-glucuronidase in the urine from infected and non-infected persons, by collecting samples twice daily (8 a.m. and 2 p.m.). However, no significant differences between the two patterns were observed, presumably because the samples consisted of urines passed into the bladder over varying lengths of time. It is concluded that the system of collection that would be required to permit the difference in patterns to be observed would be too complex for use in a screening test in the field.