Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service
Abstract Background Rodentolepis (Hymenolepis) nana (R. nana) is the most common cestode to infect humans, and whilst most infections are asymptomatic, those with a high burden of infection can present with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or growth stunting. The Respond service, London, offers screening...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | BMC Global and Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00159-5 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849731644417638400 |
|---|---|
| author | Kieran Killington Nicky Longley Katherine Bowers Humayra Chowdhury Paola Cinardo Laura Nabarro Sarah Eisen |
| author_facet | Kieran Killington Nicky Longley Katherine Bowers Humayra Chowdhury Paola Cinardo Laura Nabarro Sarah Eisen |
| author_sort | Kieran Killington |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Rodentolepis (Hymenolepis) nana (R. nana) is the most common cestode to infect humans, and whilst most infections are asymptomatic, those with a high burden of infection can present with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or growth stunting. The Respond service, London, offers screening and treatment for common infections to people seeking asylum and refugees (PSAR), including testing for gastrointestinal parasites such as R. nana. Methods We present a retrospective observational analysis of all positive R. nana results in patients screened by the Respond service between April 2016 and July 2023. A positive result was defined by the presence of R. nana ova on stool microscopy for ova, cysts and parasites (OCP) or R. nana DNA detection using the Novodiag® Stool Parasite assay (NSP), a cartridge based multiplex molecular assay. We explore incidence of R. nana infection and efficacy of treatment in PSAR presenting to an integrated refugee health service. Results R. nana was identified in 54/1797 (3%) of patients who had a stool sample collected in the Respond service. Median age of patients was 15 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9–17), and 38/54 (70%) were male, reflecting the sex demographic of the cohort. Coinfection with other parasites occurred in 28/54 (52%) of the cohort. Of the 27 patients who tested positive for R. nana where their family members were also tested, 11 patients (41%) had family members who were also infected with R. nana. Treatment failure (defined as failure to clear R. nana detected by OCP/NSP after treatment with praziquantel) occurred in 43% of the patients for whom a clearance sample was returned. Conclusions We show a significant prevalence of R. nana in people seeking asylum screened within the Respond cohort. We show significant clustering within family units and a relatively high treatment failure rate. We propose prompt treatment of positive cases to prevent transmission within families, and consideration of treatment of family units simultaneously to prevent re-infection. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-65520678bf254bdba8a3dd6b41a1208f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2731-913X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Global and Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-65520678bf254bdba8a3dd6b41a1208f2025-08-20T03:08:28ZengBMCBMC Global and Public Health2731-913X2025-05-01311710.1186/s44263-025-00159-5Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health serviceKieran Killington0Nicky Longley1Katherine Bowers2Humayra Chowdhury3Paola Cinardo4Laura Nabarro5Sarah Eisen6University College London HospitalUniversity College London HospitalUniversity College London HospitalUniversity College London HospitalUniversity College London HospitalHospital for Tropical DiseasesHospital for Tropical DiseasesAbstract Background Rodentolepis (Hymenolepis) nana (R. nana) is the most common cestode to infect humans, and whilst most infections are asymptomatic, those with a high burden of infection can present with abdominal pain, diarrhoea, or growth stunting. The Respond service, London, offers screening and treatment for common infections to people seeking asylum and refugees (PSAR), including testing for gastrointestinal parasites such as R. nana. Methods We present a retrospective observational analysis of all positive R. nana results in patients screened by the Respond service between April 2016 and July 2023. A positive result was defined by the presence of R. nana ova on stool microscopy for ova, cysts and parasites (OCP) or R. nana DNA detection using the Novodiag® Stool Parasite assay (NSP), a cartridge based multiplex molecular assay. We explore incidence of R. nana infection and efficacy of treatment in PSAR presenting to an integrated refugee health service. Results R. nana was identified in 54/1797 (3%) of patients who had a stool sample collected in the Respond service. Median age of patients was 15 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9–17), and 38/54 (70%) were male, reflecting the sex demographic of the cohort. Coinfection with other parasites occurred in 28/54 (52%) of the cohort. Of the 27 patients who tested positive for R. nana where their family members were also tested, 11 patients (41%) had family members who were also infected with R. nana. Treatment failure (defined as failure to clear R. nana detected by OCP/NSP after treatment with praziquantel) occurred in 43% of the patients for whom a clearance sample was returned. Conclusions We show a significant prevalence of R. nana in people seeking asylum screened within the Respond cohort. We show significant clustering within family units and a relatively high treatment failure rate. We propose prompt treatment of positive cases to prevent transmission within families, and consideration of treatment of family units simultaneously to prevent re-infection.https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00159-5Hymenolepis nanaRodentolepis nanarefugeesmigrant health |
| spellingShingle | Kieran Killington Nicky Longley Katherine Bowers Humayra Chowdhury Paola Cinardo Laura Nabarro Sarah Eisen Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service BMC Global and Public Health Hymenolepis nana Rodentolepis nana refugees migrant health |
| title | Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| title_full | Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| title_fullStr | Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| title_short | Incidence of Rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| title_sort | incidence of rodentolepis nana infection within people seeking asylum and refugees attending health screening at an integrated refugee health service |
| topic | Hymenolepis nana Rodentolepis nana refugees migrant health |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s44263-025-00159-5 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kierankillington incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT nickylongley incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT katherinebowers incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT humayrachowdhury incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT paolacinardo incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT lauranabarro incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice AT saraheisen incidenceofrodentolepisnanainfectionwithinpeopleseekingasylumandrefugeesattendinghealthscreeningatanintegratedrefugeehealthservice |