Abstract:

Objective To preliminarily evaluate an indirect hemagglutination(IHA) assay kit for early diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica. Methods Rabbit models were infected with Schistosoma japonicum. The sera were collected from infected and non-infected rabbits on week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, respectively, after infection, and subjected to detection using IHA assay kit and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) based on the antigen X (X-ELISA). Then the two methods were compared regarding the outcomes in early diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica. Results IHA assay kit revealed 0% positive serum from non-infected rabbits and from infected rabbits in the 1st and 2nd week after infection and 100% positive results from the 3rd week after infection. Contrarily, X-ELISA indicated false positive rate of 30.77% in the sera of non-infected rabbits, and 0% and 16.67% positive results in the 1st and 2nd week after infection, and 100% positive results by the 3rd week. The difference was not significant regarding the positive rate measures at the same time point by two techniques(P>0.05). Conclusion IHA assay kit has potential value in early diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica.

Key words: Schistosomiasis japonica, Indirect hemagglutination assay, Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Early diagnosis