The use of whole blood absorbed on filter paper to detect Wuchereria bancrofti circulating antigen

• Published in: Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Vol. 92; no. 5; pp. 513 - 515
• Main Authors: Itoh, Makoto, Gunawardena, Nipul K., Qiu, Xu-Guang, Weerasooriya, Mirani V., Kimura, Eisaku
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.09.1998; Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animals; Antigens, Helminth - isolation & purification; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - analysis; diagnosis; Diseases caused by nematodes; Filariases; filariasis; Filariasis - diagnosis; filter paper blood samples; Helminthic diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Lymphatic filariases; Medical sciences; Og4C3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Parasitic diseases; Parasitology - methods; Sri Lanka; Tropical medicine; Wuchereria bancrofti; Wuchereria bancrofti - immunology; Asia; Sri Lanka; diagnosis; Wuchereria bancrofti; filter paper blood samples; Og4C3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Sri Lanka; filariasis; Human; Filter paper; Parasitosis; Helminthiasis; Infection; Antigen; Whole blood; Immunological investigation; Nematode disease; Helmintha; Nemathelminthia; Diagnosis; Filariosis; Invertebrata; Nematoda
• DOI: 10.1016/S0035-9203(98)90896-3
• ISSN: 0035-9203

The Og4C3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect circulating Wuchereria bancrofti antigen uses 50 μL of serum. In this study, a whole blood sample absorbed on filter paper was tested as a substitute for serum. Serum samples were obtained from 60 Sri Lankan subjects by venepuncture and finger-prick blood samples from the same individuals were directly absorbed on filter paper. Og4C3 ELISAs using serum and filter paper blood were compared. Despite the fact that the estimated amount of serum available for the ELISA with filter paper blood was only one-fifth of that available when serum was used, the 2 ELISAs gave almost identical results. Of the 39 positive serum samples, 38 were detected using filter paper blood. Employing the ELISA using filter paper blood, 619 people in Matara, Sri Lanka, were examined for antigenaemia. The positivity rate was 22·5%, 3·1 times higher than the rate of microfilaraemia detected by examination of 60 μL blood films.