Gelatin particle indirect agglutination and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis using Strongyloides venezuelensis antigen

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2003 Sep-Oct;97(5):535-8. doi: 10.1016/s0035-9203(03)80017-2.

Abstract

Routine microscopical examination of stool specimens for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis is insensitive and serological methods using Strongyloides stercoralis antigen are at present not available for field studies. We evaluated 2 techniques, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and gelatin particle indirect agglutination (GPIA), using an antigen obtained from the rodent parasite, S. venezuelensis. Fifty-four Peruvian patients with different clinical forms of strongyloidiasis were studied: 12 asymptomatic, 31 symptomatic, and 11 hyperinfection cases. Our results demonstrate that both ELISA and GPIA using S. venezuelensis antigen are useful for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis, with sensitivities of 74.1% and 98.2%, respectively and a specificity of 100% for both techniques. We found that GPIA is a highly sensitive test for patients with suspected chronic infection and/or hyperinfection. In the hyperinfection cases, significantly lower concentrations of specific immunoglobulin antibodies and eosinophils (P < 0.001) were found compared with the asymptomatic and symptomatic cases.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Agglutination Tests / methods*
  • Agglutination Tests / standards
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Antigens, Helminth / analysis
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / standards
  • HTLV-I Infections / complications
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Strongyloides / immunology
  • Strongyloides / isolation & purification
  • Strongyloidiasis / diagnosis*

Substances

  • Antigens, Helminth