To better understand new and difficult-to-culture pathogens, scientists often turn to next-generation DNA sequencing and a new technology called targeted amplicon deep sequencing (TADS) has helped to dramatically expand our knowledge. But while this technology has been used widely to characterize bacterial, viral, and fungal communities, its potential use for parasite detection in routine diagnostics has not been thoroughly explored. The greatest obstacle to applying TADS to parasites is the genetic diversity of parasites, which makes it difficult to selectively amplify parasite DNA without amplifying the more abundant host DNA. In a recent study, researchers identified a way to target parasite DNA more specifically. Building on their previous work, they designed a new set of primers with pan-eukaryotic specificity allowing for the introduction of a restriction site to enable digestion of host-derived DNA prior to examining parasite-derived sequences. In experiments with blood specimens containing parasites, the new primers were able to lower the limit of detection to 10-fold lower than previously achieved. This new assay represents an important step towards a TADS-based universal parasite diagnostic test, making parasite detection simpler in a routine clinical setting.