Circulating filarial antigen detection in brugian filariasis

• Published in: Parasitology Vol. 143; no. 3; pp. 350 - 357
• Main Authors: TRIPATHI, PRAVEEN KUMAR, MAHAJAN, RAMESH CHANDER, MALLA, NANCY, MEWARA, ABHISHEK, BHATTACHARYA, SHAILJA MISRA, SHENOY, RANGANATHA KRISHNA, SEHGAL, RAKESH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Adult; adults; Animals; antigen detection; Antigens; Antigens, Helminth - blood; Asymptomatic Diseases; blood serum; Chronic illnesses; Diethylcarbamazine - therapeutic use; Drug dosages; Edema; Elephantiasis, Filarial - drug therapy; Elephantiasis, Filarial - immunology; Elephantiasis, Filarial - parasitology; Elephantiasis, Filarial - physiopathology; Fecundity; Female; Filariasis; Humans; India; Infections; Life Cycle Stages - immunology; Male; Medical education; microfilariae; Mosquitoes; patients; Protozoa; Rabbits; Tropical diseases; Vector-borne diseases; Wuchereria bancrofti - growth & development; Wuchereria bancrofti - immunology; Young Adult; United Kingdom > UK; India; stage-specific antigenaemia; circulating filarial antigen (CFA); pre- and post-treatment kinetics; Brugian filariasis
• ISSN: 0031-1820; 1469-8161; 1469-8161
• DOI: 10.1017/S0031182015001675

Human lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a major cause of disability globally. The success of global elimination programmes for LF depends upon effectiveness of tools for diagnosis and treatment. In this study on stage-specific antigen detection in brugian filariasis, L3, adult worm (AW) and microfilarial antigenaemia were detected in around 90–95% of microfilariae carriers (MF group), 50–70% of adenolymphangitis (ADL) patients, 10–25% of chronic pathology (CP) patients and 10–15% of endemic normal (EN) controls. The sensitivity of the circulating filarial antigen (CFA) detection in serum samples from MF group was up to 95%. In sera from ADL patients, unexpectedly, less antigen reactivity was observed. In CP group all the CFA positive individuals were from CP grade I and II only and none from grade III or IV, suggesting that with chronicity the AWs lose fecundity and start to disintegrate and die. Amongst EN subject, 10–15% had CFA indicating that few of them harbour filarial AWs, thus they might not be truly immune as has been conventionally believed. The specificity for antigen detection was 100% when tested with sera from various other protozoan and non-filarial helminthic infections.