Nuclepore track etch membrane filtration products

Clinical assessment consisted of a questionnaire on present or previous symptoms of UGS, known bladder or kidney disease, previous praziquantel treatment, the duration of fresh water contact and pregnancy. Three urine samples, provided between 10:00 h and 14:00 h on three consecutive days, were requested. Semiquantitative urine dipstick testing as well as urine filtration (10 ml urine) for microscopy for the presence of Schistosoma haematobium were performed (Dipstick: Combur 10 Test, Roche Diagnostics Ltd, Risch, Switzerland; Millipore filter: Nuclepore Track-Etch Membrane Filtration Products, Whatman, Maidstone, UK; microscope: Eclipse E200MV R, Nikon, Tokyo, Japan). A positive result was defined as any detection of eggs in the filtered urine. Heavy intensity infection was defined as ≥50 eggs/10 ml urine. 21 In addition, 10 ml of urine was centrifuged for 5 min at 710 x g and, after discarding the supernatant, 500 μl of urine was stored at -20 • C for Schistosoma genus PCR. In the case of negative microscopy, urine real-time PCR for Schistosoma-specific DNA was performed at CERMEL, as published previously. 22