Species-specific immunodiagnosis of Taenia solium cysticercosis by ELISA and immunoblotting.

A combination of ELISA and immunoblotting was evaluated for immunodiagnosis of human T. solium cysticercosis. The sensitivity of ELISA for diagnosis of European, Latin-American, Asian and South African patients with cysticercosis was 75% for serum and 55% for cerebrospinal fluid specimen. Antigens originating from cysticerci in pigs from Mexico and South Africa were of adequate applicability. A species-specific confirmation of T. solium cysticercosis by immunoblotting (detection of antibody activity to the 26 K and 8 K bands) was achieved in 92% (serum) and 100% (CSF) of samples positive in ELISA. No antibodies from 147 patients with other helminth infections reacted with the 26 K and the 8 K band in immunoblotting, resulting in a specificity of 100%.