New promising method to assess microfilarial Loa loa load on the peripheral blood

Abstract Loiasis is a vector-borne parasitic-disease caused by the filarial Loa loa (L. loa). Definitive diagnosis can be done by identifying and counting microfilariae in the peripheral blood by microscopy and with L. loa specific-PCR. An additional diagnostic method is the detection of L. loa specific-antibodies. Accurate methods are needed to automate quantification of microfilaria (mf) in peripheral blood. Indeed, the treatment procedure depends on the microfilarial L. loa load in blood. We report the first documented use of flow-cytometry as a new method to count microfilaraemia in peripheral blood from a patient with L. loa infection. The diagnosis of loiasis was strongly suspected based on clinical presentation and rapidly confirmed by identifying typical features of L. loa in the peripheral blood. This diagnosis was achieved by flow-cytometry using a specific fluorescence-pattern for microfilaraemia count. The current report highlights the potential of flow-cytometry to assess microfilarial L. loa load from a patient with loiasis infection.