Abstract
BackgroundEpidermophyton floccosum is an anthrophophilic dermatophyte widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics. It can invade keratinized tissues of humans and cause superficial mycoses called dermatophytosis (ringworm). ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to develop an in-house indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and to evaluate its performance for the immunological diagnosis of E. floccosum infection in humans. MethodsAn in-house indirect ELISA was developed using partially purified E. floccosum antigens, pre immunized rabbit serum as negative control, immunized rabbit polyclonal antibodies as positive control, enzyme labeled goat anti rabbit antibodies and goat anti human antibodies. A total of 50 serum samples from E. floccosum infected patients as confirmed by direct microscopy and culture and 30 samples from humans without history of dermatophyte infection that served as controls were used to evaluate the performance of an in-house indirect ELISA developed in this study. Analytical and diagnostic performance characteristics were determined to evaluate its diagnostic value. ResultsThe diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of E. floccosum indirect ELISA were 90.00 %, 83.33 %, 90.83 %, 83.83 % respectively. The performance of indirect ELISA assay was compared with gold standard diagnostic tests such as KOH hydrolysis test and fungal culture. The correlation coefficients of E. floccosum indirect ELISA with KOH hydrolysis and fungal culture method were 0.612** and 0.826** (P < 0.01) respectively indicating significant correlation between these tests. ConclusionThis revealed the great potentiality of E. floccosum indirect ELISA in early, specific and precise detection of E. floccosum infection in humans.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
