Abstract
A Schistosoma mansoni cercarial antigen preparation (cercarial transformation fluid – SmCTF) was evaluated for detection of anti-schistosome antibodies in human sera in 4 collaborating laboratories. The performance of SmCTF was compared with that of S. mansoni egg antigens (SmSEA) in an indirect enzyme-immunoassay (ELISA) antigen assay, the latter being used routinely in 3 of the 4 participating laboratories to diagnose S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections. In the fourth laboratory the performance of SmCTF was compared with that of S. japonicum egg antigens (SjSEA) in ELISA for detection of anti-S. japonicum antibodies. In all 4 laboratories the results given by SmCTF in ELISA were very similar to those given by the antigen preparation routinely used in the respective laboratory to detect anti-schistosome antibodies in human infection sera. In so far as the ELISA results from SmCTF are thus so little different from those given by schistosome egg antigens and also cheaper to produce, the former is a potentially useful new diagnostic aid for schistosomiasis.
Highlights
More than 200 million people in over 70 countries world-wide are infected with schistosomes with infection-induced morbidity being pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa [1,2]
The use of the soluble egg antigens (SEA)-ELISA for diagnosis of schistosomiasis in developing countries is restricted since SEA is relatively expensive to produce
We investigated whether a cheaper alternative S. mansoni antigenic preparation derived from schistosome cercariae (SmCTF) could potentially replace SEA in ELISA
Summary
More than 200 million people in over 70 countries world-wide are infected with schistosomes with infection-induced morbidity being pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa [1,2]. Prior to instigating control the prevalence and intensity of infection is generally estimated by microscopic detection of eggs in faecal or urine samples, which is a relatively slow and laborious process Insensitivity is another serious defect of egg detection methods of diagnosis, especially of the intestinal schistosome infections [3,4] and many light infections are missed because of the absence of eggs in the small volumes of excreta that can be routinely examined microscopically [5,6,7,8,9] These limitations impose significant constraints on current control initiatives [10,11] Considerable effort has been expended in the effort to develop immunodiagnostic tests that are an improvement on microscopical parasitology. The sensitivity of antigen detection tests seems to be no better than that of microscopy, with regard to detection of faecallyexcreted eggs of S. mansoni and in situations in which low egg counts pertain [12,13]
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