Pilot assessment of point-of-care differential white blood cell count analysers in schoolchildren with schistosomiasis

Rollason, Sarah, White, Jordan, Makaula, Peter, Kayuni, Sekeleghe A., Musaya, Janelisa and Stothard, J. Russell 2026. Pilot assessment of point-of-care differential white blood cell count analysers in schoolchildren with schistosomiasis. Transactions of The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , trag025. 10.1093/trstmh/trag025

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Abstract

Public health monitoring of schistosomiasis needs appropriate field-based technology, so to expand this portfolio, we conducted a first pilot assessment of point-of-care differential white blood cell count analysers. In total, 120 Malawian primary school children were examined with six key haematological parameters recorded. A notable proportion had abnormal differential white blood cell profiles with eosinophilia (48.3%) positively associated with schistosomiasis (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.3 to 7.7). Whilst costs of equipment and associated tests were non-trivial, both machine performance and haematological information gained were satisfactory. To improve monitoring of schistosomiasis-associated pathologies, the inclusion of differential white blood cell count technology screening appears sensible.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Additional Information:	RRS policy applied
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0035-9203
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	16 March 2026
Date of Acceptance:	31 January 2026
Last Modified:	16 Mar 2026 12:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/185782

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