title: Schistosoma mansoni antigen detects Schistosoma mekongi infection.
abstract: Northern Cambodia and Southern Laos are highly endemic for Schistosoma mekongi. However, there is currently no immunological assay available that is specific for this form of schistosomiasis. We have validated Schistosoma mansoni antigens to detect S. mekongi-directed antibodies in human sera collected from a highly S. mekongi endemic region in Laos. On two consecutive days stool samples of 234 individuals were analyzed by Kato-Katz for presence of S. mekongi eggs and the results were correlated with serology. A sensitivity of 94.5% was calculated for a combination of ELISA and indirect fluorescence assay (IFA) as compared to the detection of S. mekongi eggs in stool samples as gold standard. The results demonstrate that S. mansoni antigens can be used for the diagnosis of S. mekongi infections.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. Electronic address: beatrice.nickel@unibas.ch.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nickel
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Public Health, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic.
authors.forename: Somphou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sayasone
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Vientiane, Lao Democratic People's Republic.
authors.forename: Youthanavanh
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Vonghachack
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Odermatt
authors.affiliation: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hanspeter
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000947:Antigens, Helminth / Q000276:immunology*; D002160:Cambodia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D007812:Laos / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059208:Parasite Load; D012547:Schistosoma / Q000276:immunology; D012550:Schistosoma mansoni / Q000276:immunology*; D012552:Schistosomiasis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth
keywords: ELISA; IFA; Kato-Katz; Laos; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosoma mekongi; Serodiagnosis