{
  "abstract": "Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is targeted for elimination through mass administration (MDA) of ivermectin (IVM) to endemic populations. In areas where loiasis, caused by the blood-borne filarial parasite Loa loa, is co-endemic, IVM MDA faced significant challenges because individuals harboring more than 30,000 L. loa microfilaria (mf)/mL of blood are at high risk of developing serious adverse events (SAEs) that can sometimes be fatal. An alternative strategy was developed for safe IVM distribution: the so-called 'Test and Not Treat' (TaNT), which identifies and excludes individuals with high mf density from IVM MDA and treats only those with minimal risk. TaNT requires a point-of-care diagnostic device to rapidly quantify L. loa parasites in field conditions. The NTDscope is a handheld device which captures bright-field videos of whole blood in capillaries. An onboard algorithm detects and counts the live microfilaria of L. loa via movement of red blood cells. This paper describes (i) a new detection algorithm; and (ii) a May 2025 field trial in Cameroon using the NTDscope with new algorithm (550 patients). Results for the TaNT use case (i.e. flagging cases with L. loa mf densities > 30,000 mf/mL): 94% to 97% sensitivity, and 94% to 97% specificity. The results indicate that the NTDscope and new algorithm provide a greater margin of safety than the predecessor device, and can potentially offer rapid, effective field detection of high mf infections to enable scalability of the TaNT strategy.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Washington, Seattle, WA"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 15,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "L. Djune-Yemeli"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "C. B. Delahunt"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. M. Tchana"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. G. Bopda"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. A. Balog"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Y. Nzeuhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Banik"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. D. Keller"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Spencer"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. D. de Leon Derby"
    },
    {
      "name": "Z. L. Moussa"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. A. Fletcher"
    },
    {
      "name": "I. I. Bogoch"
    },
    {
      "name": "A.-L. M. Le-Ny"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Kamgno"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d4r4nzz8epy0p.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.29.745114",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.745114v1.full",
  "id": "d4r4nzz8epy0p",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.745114v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "pathology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2725|Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7207643866",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.745114v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d4r4nzz8epy0p.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:10Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.29.745114",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.745114v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2725|Parasitic Diseases Research and Treatment",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Automated detection of Loa loa: a field trial in Cameroon",
  "title_text": "Automated detection of Loa loa: a field trial in Cameroon",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:10Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d4r4nzz8epy0p",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}