title: Serological diagnosis of human babesiosis by IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
abstract: An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of IgG antibodies to Babesia microti antigen was developed. B. microti antigens were harvested from experimentally infected hamster blood and used as a coating antigen. The sensitivity and specificity of the IgG ELISA relative to immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA) testing was 95.5% and 94.1%, respectively. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve was 0.987. No cross-reactivity of serum samples collected from patients infected with Toxoplasma gondii, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella quintana, Dengue virus, or West Nile virus was detected. Cross-reactivity was observed with one of 35 sera from patients infected with Bartonella henselae. These results indicate that the established ELISA methods could be utilized as an accurate measure for the clinical diagnosis of human babesiosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, L.L.C., Mount Laurel, NJ 08054, USA.
authors.forename: Chien Chang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Loa
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Adelson
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mordechai
authors.forename: Israel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raphaelli
authors.forename: Richard C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Tilton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D041001:Babesia microti / Q000276:immunology*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006224:Cricetinae; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G