title: Individual serological follow-up of patients with suspected or confirmed abdominal angiostrongyliasis.
abstract: Abdominal angiostrongyliasis (AA) is a zoonotic nematode infection caused by Angiostrongylus costaricensis, with widespread occurrence in the Americas. Although the human infection may be highly prevalent, morbidity is low in Southern Brazil. Confirmed diagnosis is based on finding parasitic structures in pathological examination of biopsies or surgical resections. Serology stands as an important diagnostic tool in the less severe courses of the infection. Our objective is to describe the follow up of humoral reactivity every 2-4 weeks up to one year, in six individuals with confirmed (C) and ten suspected (S) AA. Antibody (IgG) detection was performed by ELISA and resulted in gradually declining curves of reactivity in nine subjects (56%) (4C + 5S), that were consistently negative in only three of them (2C + 1S) after 221, 121 and 298 days. Three individuals (2C + 1S) presented with low persistent reacitivity, other two (1C + 1S) were serologically negative from the beginning, but also presenting a declining tendency. The study shows indications that abdominal angiostrongyliasis is usually not a persistent infection: although serological negativation may take many months, IgG reactivity is usually declining along time and serum samples pairing may add valuable information to the diagnostic workout.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Parasitologia Molecular, Instituto de Pesquisas Biomédicas, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul.
authors.forename: Penélope E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Palominos
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gasnier
authors.forename: Rubens
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Aventino A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Agostini
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Graeff-Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017185:Angiostrongylus cantonensis / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000909:Antibodies, Helminth / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017206:Strongylida Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000909:Antibodies, Helminth; D007074:Immunoglobulin G