Pre- and Postsurgical Detection of IgG, IgM, and IgA Specific to Hydatidosis by ELISA With Purified Antigen Enriched With the 5/B Antigen Complex

An enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) using purified 5/B Echinococcus enriched antigen was used to follow IgG, IgM, and IgA antibody levels pre- and posttreatment or surgical removal of hydatid cysts. The sensitivity was 97%, 37.5%, and 54.5%, respectively, and the specificity was 95.7%, 100%, and 98.9%, respectively. All isotypes could be detected 3 years after surgical removal of cysts in patients showing no remaining cyst evidence. This was especially true for IgG, which persisted in 85.2% of the patients. The data indicate that antigen purification improves specificity without affecting sensitivity, although this new antigen offers no advantages in the postsurgical monitoring of the patients. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 16:295‐298, 2002. c 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.