Description
Ascaris IgG-antibodies (suum+lumbricoides)
This test is for determination of quantitative IgG antibodies against Ascaris (mainly A. lumbricoides and A. suum) for the clarification of suspected Ascariasis infection or target application.
It is not possible to differentiate between the two species.
Test principle:
The quantitative immunoenzymatic determination of specific antibodies is based on the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) technique.
The wells of the microtitre plate are coated with Ascaris soluble coelomics antigens.
Specific antibodies will attach to the antigen and non-specific components can be removed by washing.
The presence of IgG antibodies in the serum is detected with a protein A/alkaline phosphatase conjugate.
Repeated washing removes unbound conjugate. Bound antibodies are detected using pNPP substrate, which turns yellow on contact with alkaline phosphatase.
The color intensity corresponds to the amount of specific Ascaris antibodies in the sample. The reaction is interrupted with dipotassium hydrogen phosphate. An ELISA microplate reader is used to read the absorbance at 405 nm.
Ascariasis is a worm infection that occurs worldwide and is caused by some helminth species of the genus Ascaris (mainly A. lumbricoides and A. suum).
It is most common in children in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene.People become infected through accidental peroral ingestion of infective eggs via contaminated soil, water or food.
After ingestion of eggs, larvae hatch in the small intestine and then migrate mainly via the bloodstream to the liver and then to the lungs.
The damage that can be caused there depends mainly on the intensity of the infection. From the lungs, the moulted larvae migrate via the trachea to the pharynx, where most of them are swallowed and thus enter the gastrointestinal tract.
The larvae mature into adult worms in the small intestine, where they live for a very long time - up to years - and can reproduce sexually.
Many acutely and/or chronically infected people show no direct symptoms.
In some cases, however, clinical signs appear in the lung stage (persistent cough, shortness of breath and wheezing), allergy, hepatitis and/or in the intestinal stage (upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea).
