title: Uncinaria stenocephala: assessment of antigens for the immunodiagnosis of canine uncinariosis.
abstract: Although Uncinaria stenocephala is the most frequent hookworm in the intestine of dogs from Northern, Central and Southern Europe, little is known about its host-parasite relationship. Three groups of sera from dogs (Group 1: dogs naturally infected only by U. stenocephala; Group 2: helminth-free dogs at necropsy, and Group 3: dogs parasitized by other helminths) were analyzed by ELISA using U. stenocephala antigens from adult worms (somatic and excretory-secretory antigens) and from L3 larvae (somatic antigens). All three sources of antigens were found to be suitable for immunodiagnosis of canine uncinariosis with up to 90% efficacy. However, an analysis to assess the diagnostic value of the different antigens demonstrated that the adult excretory-secretory antigens had a higher diagnostic efficacy (96.7%), indicating that this is the best antigen source for the diagnosis of Uncinaria infection.
authors: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country, P.O. Box 450, 01080 Vitoria, Spain.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Postigo
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Martinez
authors: J A
authors: JA
authors: Guisantes