[Use of the Western Blot assay in the diagnosis of trichinosis.].

Trichinosis is a worldwide parasitic disease acquired by the consumption of raw or uncooked meat containing encysted larva. The western blot (WB) technique has an important role in the serological diagnosis of trichinosis as a confirmatory test. In our study, IgG antibodies specific for Trichinella were found in the sera of 25 patients with trichinosis seropositivity by In house ES ELISA. Of 10 control individuals, 2 were found to be positive for toxocariasis, 2, positive for fascioliasis and 6 were found to be healthy by the WB test. In WB analysis, serum samples from the 25 persons suffering from trichinosis showed common profile bands with the band size ranging from 14 to 123 kDa. These serum samples showed the following important three antigenic bands with different sensitivities of 45 kDa (88.0%), 55 kDa (60%), and 88-90 kDa (64%). As a result of this study, these three antigenic bands in WB test are considered to be valuable in the diagnosis of human trichinosis.