title: Diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA) for Chagas' disease serodiagnosis.
abstract: 1. Diffusion-in-gel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DIG-ELISA) was standardized and evaluated for the diagnosis of Chagas' disease, in comparison with the conventional serological tests indirect immunofluorescence (IFI), passive hemagglutination (PHA) and complement fixation (CF). 2. A total of 236 serum samples positive and negative for the serodiagnosis of Chagas' disease were studied. The group included 50 serum samples serologically positive for leishmaniasis and 36 positive for malaria. 3. The best diagnostic performance of DIG-ELISA was observed when serum samples were diluted to 1:8 and a diameter of zero mm (no color) was taken as the cut-off. Under these conditions, the relative indices of sensitivity, specificity and agreement were 100%. High positive correlation coefficients were obtained between DIG-ELISA and IFI (r1 = 0.9010), PHA (r2 = 0.8943) and CF (r3 = 0.8269). 4. We conclude that DIG-ELISA provides an alternative technique for screening chagasic infections, as well as for seroepidemiological surveys mainly because it is simple, easy to carry out and does not require expensive equipment.
authors.affiliation: Seção de Imunologia, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: H I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Requejo
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Vaz
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pialarissi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hoshino-Shimizu
authors.forename: T K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D005779:Immunodiffusion / Q000379:methods*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G