title: Outstanding insecurities concerning the use of an Ov16-based ELISA in the Amazonia onchocerciasis focus.
abstract: In a recent issue of Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, published in Rio de Janeiro in February 2014 (109: 87-92), Adami et al. have published a survey reporting Mansonella parasite prevalence in the Amazon Region. This report makes a useful contribution to the existing knowledge of filarial parasite distribution within the Amazon area, parasite prevalence rates in relation to age and occupation and provides observations on the possible clinical impact of Mansonella ozzardi. Their publication also provides an account of what appears to be a novel ELISA that has recently been used in the Simuliidae and Onchocerciasis Laboratory of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We are concerned that the publication of this ELISA may have created an excessively positive impression of the effectiveness of the onchocerciasis recrudescence serological surveillance tools that are presently available for use in the Amazonia onchocerciasis focus. In this letter we have, thus, sought to highlight some of the limitations of this ELISA and suggest how continuing insecurities concerning the detection of antibodies to Onchocerca volvulus within the Amazonia onchocerciasis focus might be minimised.
authors: Ecologia de Doenças Transmissíveis na Amazônia, Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane-Fiocruz, Manaus, AM, Brasil.
authors: Sérgio Luiz Bessa
authors: SL
authors: Luz
authors: Ecologia de Doenças Transmissíveis na Amazônia, Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane-Fiocruz, Manaus, AM, Brasil.
authors: James Lee
authors: JL
authors: Crainey
authors: Life Sciences Department, Parasites and Vectors Division, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
authors: Anthony John
authors: AJ
authors: Shelley
authors: Malaria y Protozoos Emergentes, Servicio de Parasitología, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, España.
authors: Miguel
authors: M
authors: Rubio
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D015801:Helminth Proteins; D006801:Humans; D017181:Onchocerca volvulus; D009855:Onchocerciasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology; D021261:Parasitic Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D015801:Helminth Proteins; C102097:Ovd protein, Onchocerca volvulus