Echinococcus IgG ELISA
The IMMUNOLAB Echinococcus IgG Antibody ELISA Test Kit has been designed for the the detection and the quantitative determination of specific IgG antibodies against Echinococcus in serum and plasma. Further applications in other body fluids are possible and can be requested from the Technical Service of IMMUNOLAB.
Echinococcus spp. are 1.4 – 6 mm long tapeworms with 3 – 5 segments. The two species E. granulosus and E. multilocularis are principally responsible for human disease. These species are the aetiological agents of hydatid disease, a zoonotic infection of worldwide distribution, in man and other intermediate hosts. The definitive host for E. granulosus is the dog, with sheep or cattle acting as intermediate hosts following ingestion of contaminated dog faeces. Man is also infected coincidentally by contact with contaminated dog faeces. The definitive hosts for this organism are foxes and dogs, with small rodents acting as intermediate hosts. Infection is mainly acquired by ingestion of contaminated fruits and vegetables. Most of the symptoms of echinococcosis arise from the compression of adjacent host structures by the gradually enlarging hydatid cyst. The preferred form of treatment is surgical removal of the intact cyst. In E. multilocularis infections the germinal membrane is not confined within a single cyst, and scolices develop in an uncontrolled manner, often with extensive local invasion and infiltration, particularly in the liver. Unlike classical hydatid disease, this renders little possibility of effective surgical resection. The disease can stay without symptoms over a period of some years. Depending on the extension and the localisation of the cysts, there can be different symtoms like epigastric pain, ikterus, bilious vomiting, thoracodynia or paresis. The lethality caused by E. granulosus infections is between 2 – 4%, by E. multilocularis infections between 52 – 94%, after surgical or chemotherapeutical treatment between 10 – 14 %. The serological proof of specific antibodies to Echinococcus spp. with the ELISA allow a diagnosis in 90% of infections. A differentiation between E. granulosus and E. multilocularis is not possible. False-negative results can be obtained when cysts are calcified, false-positive results in case of cross-reactions to infections with other parasites (Fasciola, Filariae). Therefore a combination of ELISA and IFA is recommended.
The IMMUNOLAB Echinococcus IgG antibody test kit is based on the principle of the enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Echinococcus antigen is bound on the surface of the microtiter strips. Diluted patient serum or ready-to-use standards are pipetted into the wells of the microtiter plate. A binding between the IgG antibodies of the serum and the immobilized Echinococcus antigen takes place. After a one hour incubation at room temperature, the plate is rinsed with diluted wash solution, in order to remove unbound material. Then ready-to-use anti-human-IgG peroxidase conjugate is added and incubated for 30 minutes. After a further washing step, the substrate (TMB) solution is pipetted and incubated for 20 minutes, inducing the development of a blue dye in the wells. The color development is terminated by the addition of a stop solution, which changes the color from blue to yellow. The resulting dye is measured spectrophotometrically at the wavelength of 450 nm. The concentration of the IgG antibodies is directly proportional to the intensity of the color.
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