@article{fdi:010064223,
  title = {{P}oint-of-care quantification of blood-borne filarial parasites with a mobile phone microscope},
  author = {{D}'{A}mbrosio, {M}. {V}. and {B}akalar, {M}. and {B}ennuru, {S}. and {R}eber, {C}. and {S}kandarajah, {A}. and {N}ilsson, {L}. and {S}witz, {N}. and {K}amgno, {J}. and {P}ion, {S}{\'e}bastien and {B}oussinesq, {M}ichel and {N}utman, {T}. {B}. and {F}letcher, {D}. {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{P}arasitic helminths cause debilitating diseases that affect millions of people in primarily low-resource settings. {E}fforts to eliminate onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in {C}entral {A}frica through mass drug administration have been suspended because of ivermectin-associated serious adverse events, including death, in patients infected with the filarial parasite {L}oa loa. {T}o safely administer ivermectin for onchocerciasis or lymphatic filariasis in regions co-endemic with {L}. loa, a strategy termed "test and (not) treat" has been proposed whereby those with high levels of {L}. loa microfilariae (>30,000/ml) that put them at risk for life-threatening serious adverse events are identified and excluded from mass drug administration. {T}o enable this, we developed a mobile phone-based video microscope that automatically quantifies {L}. loa microfilariae in whole blood loaded directly into a small glass capillary from a fingerprick without the need for conventional sample preparation or staining. {T}his point-of-care device automatically captures and analyzes videos of microfilarial motion in whole blood using motorized sample scanning and onboard motion detection, minimizing input from health care workers and providing a quantification of microfilariae per milliliter of whole blood in under 2 min. {T}o validate performance and usability of the mobile phone microscope, we tested 33 potentially {L}oa-infected patients in {C}ameroon and confirmed that automated counts correlated with manual thick smear counts (94% specificity; 100% sensitivity). {U}se of this technology to exclude patients from ivermectin-based treatment at the point of care in {L}oa-endemic regions would allow resumption/expansion of mass drug administration programs for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis in {C}entral {A}frica.},
  keywords = {{AFRIQUE} {CENTRALE} ; {CAMEROUN}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{S}cience {T}ranslational {M}edicine},
  volume = {7},
  numero = {286},
  pages = {286re4},
  ISSN = {1946-6234},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.1126/scitranslmed.aaa3480},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010064223},
}