A Protein Microarray for the Rapid Screening of Patients Suspected of Infection with Various Food-Borne Helminthiases

Food-borne helminthiases (FBHs) have caused significant problems in public health and also posed socio-economic concerns. Common FBHs, such as cysticercosis, trichinellosis, paragonimiasis, sparganosis and angiostrongyliasis, have a worldwide distribution with high morbidity and even death. The objective of the present study was to develop and test a rapid assay suitable for large-scale screening for FBHs that would also allow differential diagnosis between the various parasite species. We tested archived, well-characterized serum specimens and prioritized tests for future evaluation in rapid and simultaneous screening of five different FBHs, i.e. cysticercosis, trichinellosis, paragonimiasis, sparganosis and angiostrongyliasis. This was done with a multiplex protein microarray assay equipped with semi-purified antigens capable of detecting disease-specific antibodies. Results showed that the protein microarray developed displayed a good specificity, ranging from 97.0% to 100.0%, and a sensitivity, ranging from 85.7% to 92.1%, with a Youden index variation from 0.83 to 0.92. It was concluded that the protein microarray provides a sensitive, high-throughput technique for the simultaneous detection of multiple FBHs overcoming the limitations of conventional diagnostics.