Comparison of three immunological tests for seroepidemiological purposes in human echinococcosis

Abstract

The comparative sensitivity and specificity of three immunodiagnostic tests for hydatid disease--the latex agglutination (LA) test, the indirect haemagglutination (IHA) test and the counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) test--were studied. The results of the IHA test were evaluated using three positivity criteria. Antigen from the same source--hydatid cyst fluid pool of ovine origin--was utilized for the three tests. A total of 123 sera were studied; 30 preoperative sera from patients with other parasitic and infectious diseases, 30 sera from patients with non-parasitic diseases and 30 sera from normal blood donors. The results of the three tests were correlated to the immunoelectrophoresis (IEP) test based on the presence of arc 5. The same sensitivity (86.7%) and specificity (99%) was obtained in LA, CIEP and IHA tests when the minimum cross-reactivity titre criterion was employed for the latter. Non-specificity was relatively high (13%) in the IHA test when only serological reactivity was considered. The sensitivity of the IHA test decreased (83.3%) using the diagnostic titre criterion and non-specific reactions were eliminated. All three tests correlated well with the IEP test.

Characterization and optimization of bovine Echinococcus granulosus cyst fluid to be used in immunodiagnosis of hydatid disease by ELISA

“…Immunodiagnosis of this disease in humans can be achieved by one or a combination of different techniques, e.g. indirect haemagglutination 26,38 , immunoelectrophoresis (IEF) 27,39 , latex agglutination 2,27,31 , immunoblotting 15,33 , counterimmunoelectrophoresis 12 , ELISA 1,11,14 . The usual source of antigen for immunodiagnosis of hydatid disease is the fluid from sheep cysts.…”

Some observations on hydatidosis in Jordan

“…Serodiagnosis of hydatid disease in man is a complicated issue in terms of specificities, sensitivity and predictive value. In the current work, IHA titres of 1:180 or higher were considered positive, a titre within the range of titres defined by previous workers (VARELA-DIAZ et al, 1975;PICARDO & GUISANTES, 1981) as a titre which can be taken as diagnostic without compromising specificity. Infections with larval stages of Taenia solium can give rise to high IHA titres, indistinguishable from those of hydatid disease patients (SCHANTZ et al, 1980).…”

Further investigations of a hydatid focus in North-West Scotland

“…The tests chosen for the primary screen in this survey offer a high degree of sensitivity, which is essential, both for the diagnosis of current disease and for evidence of exposure. The IHA test recommended by Picardo & Guisantes (1981) was used with success previously (Chisholm, MacVicar & Williams, 1983) but has, on occasion, been 117 negative in pulmonary hydatidosis and in cases where the cyst or cysts were inactive or had become calcified (unpublished data). The ELISA, on the other hand, has been positive in every case of hydatid disease, including those with pulmonary localization of the cyst, which we have detected in Scotland.…”