Introduction

Tungiasis is caused by the adult female sand flea, Tunga penetrans. The larvae and pupae develop in dry shaded soils, mostly inside the sleeping rooms of houses with an unsealed earthen floor where most transmission occurs. The embedded flea causes inflammation, pain and itching, difficulty walking, sleeping and concentrating on school or work. Tungiasis is a zoonosis that affects humans and animals alike.

T. penetrans is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Caribbean, South America and sub-Saharan Africa. Over 1 billion people live in areas suitable for transmission of tungiasis but no country conducts routine surveillance so the actual disease burden is not known. However, within endemic communities, surveys have reported prevalence from 7% to 63%, i.e., distribution is heterogeneous. It thrives where living conditions are precarious, such as villages located in remote beaches, communities in the rural hinterland and shanty towns of big cities. In these settings, the poorest of the poor carry the highest burden of the disease.

This kit is designed with specific primers and probes targeting the conserved region of Tunga penetrans, generating fluorescence signals on a constant temperature nucleic acid amplification instrument. By employing POCT detection, it realizes qualitative and genotypic identification of Tunga penetrans at the nucleic acid level.