Evaluation of direct and indirect methods in diagnosis of chronic intestinal schistosomiasis in Menoufia Governorate.

A comparative study of Kato thick smear method, modified Ritchie concentration technique (MRCT), rectal snip biopsy and indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test were done on fifty patients with chronic intestinal schistosomiasis from Menoufia governorate, an area of Nile Delta endemic for schistosomiasis. Study revealed that a single kato-preparation was not sufficient to determine correctly the prevalence of Schistosoma mansoni infection particularly in chronic cases (22%), the accuracy was maximized by examining stool samples obtained from the same patient by MRCT (46%). Rectal snip biopsy and IHA test showed high positivity rate of 80% and 74% respectively. It is recommended to combine stool examination by MRCT with either rectal snip or IHA test according to the condition of patient as the former can not be performed on routine basis.