The Diagnosis of Human Hydatidosis by Measurement of Specific IgE Antibody by Enzyme Immunoassay

Abstract

The sensitivity and specificity of an enzyme imniunosorbent assay (EIA) for measurement of anti-Echinococcus granulosus specific IgE antibody using microtiter strips was evaluated. The sensitivity was 92.2% for 90 patients with cysts in the liver or other body sites but excluding the patients with cysts in the lungs or bones. In this latter group (n=26) a sensitivity of 61.5% was recorded. The specificity for control groups comprising 89 blood bank sera from Spain and 48 sera from atopic Swedes was 100%. Patients infected with other parasites (n=78) were usually negative (81%). 11 of the 15 false positives were found in patients with total IgE >5000 kU/l. The microtiter EIA method employed can be considered as a very convenient method to be included in the range of immunodiagnostic tests for human hydatid disease.