title: Efficient diagnosis of giardiasis among nursery and primary school children in Santiago, Chile by capture ELISA for the detection of fecal Giardia antigens.
abstract: Fecal samples were obtained from 722 of 820 children attending 7 nursery schools and 1 primary school in the city of Santiago, Chile. Microscopy of formol-ether concentrates showed that 33% of the children were infected with Giardia lamblia. Prevalences among primary school students (5-10 years of age) of G. lamblia (38%), Endolimax nana (43%), and Entamoeba coli (25%) were overall higher than among nursery school students (3 months-5 years of age; prevalences 29%, 21%, and 16%, respectively). There was no apparent association between socio-economic intake and levels of G. lamblia infection: the private nursery school had the highest recorded level of infection (40%). One hundred sixty-two triplicate stool specimens were used to compare microscopy with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Giardia fecal antigens. The ELISA was highly sensitive and specific either visually (95% and 97%, respectively) or by optical density determination (99% and 96%, respectively). Incorporation of non-immune rabbit immunoglobulin-coated control wells did not enhance sensitivity and specificity. The antigen detection ELISA is an extremely effective tool for the epidemiological investigation of giardiasis.
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Goldin
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Apt
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zulantay
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Warhurst
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Miles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D005872:Giardia / Q000276:immunology*; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012621:Seasons
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan