Bilharzia screen

[robisa86]

Hi all, can anybody help?

My Bilharzia/Schistosomiasis ELISA result has come back as "\R\"

Does anybody know what this means? Does it like mean the test was 'Reactive' i.e. Positive?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[robisa86]

I'm in the UK. Luckily the clinic that is covering me is one in London that has lots of experience in tropical diseases so fingers crossed we'll get to an answer.

[mkh9]

Well, then you have some testing to do. But you don't have the symptoms of malaria which has the cyclic fevers and so forth. I would probably still get tested if you can. Maybe see an infectious disease specialist. What country are you in now?
mkh9

[robisa86]

And yes, bitten by many mosquitoes despite all the standard precautions.... they just seem to be attracted to me :( Was tested for Dengue a while back but results were negative.

[robisa86]

Was tested for malaria but the results were negative. Tsetse fly and other parasites not tested either. Blood in the urine and raised eosinophiles were only identified last week on a routine medical as I was meant to be flying to Seirra Leone the following Sunday. Unfortunately that is on hold now whilst we try and resolve the cause of these test results. If it isn't Bilharzia, it could highly likely be another parasitic infection, when I think of all the places I've lived and worked in developing countries over the past ten years or so. I think I can rule out allergies and although I have mild asthma, I only use my inhaler 3-4 a year. No signs of a UTI really, no urgency, no pain, no feeling I need to go but can't.

I think I'm just going to have to wait til Monday. If the results are negative I'll be sure to get follow up tests for other parasitic infections etc. Either way, I won't be getting medical clearance to deploy for work until its all sorted!!!

[mkh9]

Early symptoms are Fever, chills, muscle aches. Also, you can get liver pain.
Like you said we'll see. Have you been tested for malaria and Tsetse fly? Were you bitten by any mosquitos or flies? I guess in general there are a lot of things in the places you visited. Were you tested for other parasites too?
take care, I hope you feel better.
mkh9

[robisa86]

The main symptom I have is extreme lethargy. I think I have got used to it as it's been going on so long but the more I think about it, the more I realise how permanently exhausted I am. Sometimes I'm so tired that I ache all over badly :( I don't know if it's just a general tiredness but I do lack energy. Maybe its related to something else. We'll see.

The only other symptoms I've had for the last few years is upper right abdo pain and frequent sweats (night and day). I mentioned the these to the GP on several occassions but he dismissed them as insignificant.

Sarah