Reliable serodiagnosis of imported cystic echinococcosis with a commercial indirect hemagglutination assay.
A commercially available indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA) (Echinococcosis Fumouze; Laboratoires Fumouze, Levallois-Perret, France) was evaluated using sera from 52 patients with proven cystic echinococcosis. The specificity was assessed using 247 sera from patients with various parasitic, bacterial, viral, and fungal infectious diseases; sera containing autoimmune antibodies; and sera from healthy blood donors. With a cutoff value for a positive result of 320 (as recommended by the manufacturer), the sensitivity and specificity were 88% and 98.4%; with a cutoff of 160, the sensitivity and specificity were 94% and 95.1%, respectively. The IHA is rapid, easy to perform, and is a very sensitive serodiagnostic test for cystic echinococcosis.
van Doorn
H Rogier
HR
Section of Parasitology, Department of Medical Microbiology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, PO Box 22660, 1100DD Amsterdam, The Netherlands. h.r.vandoorn@amc.uva.nl
Hofwegen
Henk
H
Koelewijn
Rob
R
Gilis
Henk
H
Wentink-Bonnema
Ellen
E
Pinelli
Elena
E
van Genderen
Perry J J
PJ
Schipper
Hans G
HG
van Gool
Tom
T
D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000097:blood*; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000276:immunology*; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic