Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 104, Issue 4 , Pages 255-258, April 2010

Development of a new assay for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis, using cercarial antigens

  • M.A. Chand

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 3rd Floor, Mortimer Market, Capper Street, London WC1E 6JB, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +44 020 7387 4411x5418; fax: +44 020 7383 0041.
    • ,
  • P.L. Chiodini

      Affiliations

    • Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 3rd Floor, Mortimer Market, Capper Street, London WC1E 6JB, UK
    • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
    • ,
  • M.J. Doenhoff

      Affiliations

    • School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK

Received 2 July 2009; received in revised form 11 December 2009; accepted 14 December 2009.

Abstract 

We have developed a new ELISA for detection of anti-schistosome antibodies using an extract from Schistosoma mansoni cercariae. We evaluated the new assay on serum samples sent to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Department of Clinical Parasitology, London, UK, by comparing it with our routinely used S. mansoni soluble egg antigen (SEA) assay. We also evaluated the new assay for cross-reactivity with a number of helminth and other infections. We demonstrate that the cercarial antigen assay is equivalent to the SEA assay for serodiagnosis of schistosomiasis in a non-endemic setting. The cercarial antigen preparation is more easily produced than SEA, and for this reason this assay may be preferred for routine clinical use and may be amenable to scaling up. Further assessment is needed before it can be recommended for use in an endemic area, as chronic disease and co-infection with other helminths are likely to be under-represented in our sample set.

Keywords: Schistosomiasis, Schistosoma, Serology, Diagnosis, ELISA, Cercariae

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PII: S0035-9203(09)00397-6

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2009.12.004

Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 104, Issue 4 , Pages 255-258, April 2010

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