Diagnosis of human trichinellosis: pitfalls in the use of a unique immunoserological technique.
Serum samples belonging to three outbreaks in Argentina (47 patients) taken at different times post-ingestion were analysed employing IIF and ELISA simultaneously. Results show that: a) the number of patients diagnosed by a unique technique, especially by ELISA (31 patients), was lower than the one obtained by the simultaneous use of both assays (38 patients); b) four patients out of the seven diagnosed by a unique technique were negative by the other assay over the period of time evaluated. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of a sole immunoserological technique can not only lead to the delay in the detection but also to the misdiagnosis of this parasitic infection.
Costantino
S N
SN
Institute of Humoral Immunity Studies, CONICET, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Junín 956, 1113 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Malmassari
S L
SL
Dalla Fontana
M L
ML
Diamante
M A
MA
Venturiello
S M
SM
D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D001118:Argentina / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods; D017160:Trichinella spiralis; D014235:Trichinellosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology
D000909:Antibodies, Helminth