Indirect haemagglutination (IHA) for the diagnosis of hydatid disease in Yemen.

Antihydatid cyst antibodies from sera of infected Yemeni patients were detected using indirect haemagglutination assay (IHA). Antihydatid cyst antibodies were detected in 34 out of 38 serum samples (89% sensitivity). The specificity of the assay was defined to be 97.0% as cross reactivity only noticed with serum from one patient with Schistosoma mansoni out of 11 Schistosoma positive patients examined. Results were discussed.