title: Detection of the acute phase of abdominal angiostrongyliasis with a parasite-specific IgG enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.
abstract: Angiostrongylus costaricensis may cause intestinal lesions of varied severity when it accidentally infects man in Central and South America. First-stage larvae have never been detected in stools. Therefore, a parasite-specific IgG ELISA was evaluated for the determination of the acute phase of infection. The specificity and the sensitivity of the immunoassay was shown to be 76.2% and 91.1%, respectively. Eight serum samples taken from patients with histopathological diagnosis, at different time points (3 to 15 months) after surgical treatment, showed a sharp and early decline in antibody reactivity. The titration of anti-A. costaricensis antibodies has proved to be a useful method for the diagnosis of acute abdominal angiostrongyliasis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitologia Molecular, Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, PUCRS, Porto Alegre, RS, 90610-000, Brasil.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Geiger
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Laitano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sievers-Tostes
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Agostini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schulz-Key
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graeff-Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G