Specificity of circulating antigen detection for schistosomiasis mansoni in Senegal and Burundi

Katja Polman*, Meremarie M. Diakhate, Dirk Engels, Samuel Nahimana, Govert J. Van Dam, Sonja T M Falcão Ferreira, Andre M. Deelder, Bruno Gryseels

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The specificity of schistosome circulating antigen detection was determined in negative individuals from two S. mansoni- endemic countries, Senegal and Burundi, and compared with results from Dutch control individuals. A nearly absolute specificity was achieved for circulating anodic antigen (CAA) detection in serum, irrespective of the target population or sample pretreatment method. Circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) detection in serum and urine resulted in a lower specificity than serum CAA detection. Apparent large differences in specificity of CCA detection between countries were mainly due to pretreatment methods. Apparently, the alkaline/heating pretreatment method is not as effective as trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-pretreatment in removing (certain) interfering components, which may vary between populations. In view of the development of the urine CCA assay into a noninvasive screening test, a slightly lower specificity may still be acceptable. For precise epidemiological analyses the highly specific serum CAA assay remains the method of choice.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)534-537
Number of pages4
JournalTropical Medicine and International Health
Volume5
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2000
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Circulating anodic antigen (CAA)
  • Circulating cathodic antigen (CCA)
  • Endemic countries
  • Pretreatment
  • Schistosoma mansoni
  • Specificity

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