Baylisascaris procyonis roundworms can cause potentially fatal neural larva migrans in many species, including humans. However, the clinical spectrum of baylisascariasis is not completely understood. We tested 347 asymptomatic adult wildlife rehabilitators for B. procyonis antibodies; 24 were positive, suggesting that subclinical baylisascariasis is occurring among this population.

The primary causative agent of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis (EoM) in endemic regions is the nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis. The occurrence of EoM was previously restricted to countries in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands; however, more recently, it has been reported from other regions, including Brazil. The commonly used diagnosis is detection of specific antibody reactivity to the 31 kDa antigen, which is derived from female worm somatic extracts. Here we report the occurrence of cross-reactivity to this antigen in sera from other parasitic infections, especially those that may cause EoM, such as gnathostomiasis, toxocariasis, hydatidosis and strongyloidiasis. We also demonstrated that the cross-reactivity, in part, is dependent of the concentration of antigen used in Western blot assays. We discuss the importance of these findings on the interpretation of this test.

The clinical spectrum of human disease caused by the roundworms Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati ranges from visceral and ocular larva migrans to covert toxocariasis. The parasite is not typically recovered in affected tissues, so detection of parasite-specific antibodies is usually necessary for establishing a diagnosis. The most reliable immunodiagnostic methods use the Toxocara excretory-secretory antigens (TES-Ag) in ELISA formats to detect Toxocara-specific antibodies. To eliminate the need for native parasite materials, we identified and purified immunodiagnostic antigens using 2D gel electrophoresis followed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Three predominant immunoreactive proteins were found in the TES; all three had been previously described in the literature: Tc-CTL-1, Tc-TES-26, and Tc-MUC-3. We generated Escherichia coli expressed recombinant proteins for evaluation in Luminex based immunoassays. We were unable to produce a functional assay with the Tc-MUC-3 recombinant protein. Tc-CTL-1 and Tc-TES-26 were successfully coupled and tested using defined serum batteries. The use of both proteins together generated better results than if the proteins were used individually. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay for detecting visceral larval migrans using Tc-CTL-1 plus Tc-TES-26 was 99% and 94%, respectively; the sensitivity for detecting ocular larval migrans was 64%. The combined performance of the new assay was superior to the currently available EIA and could potentially be employed to replace current assays that rely on native TES-Ag.

Strongyloides stercoralis is a widely distributed parasite that infects 30 to 100 million people worldwide. In the United States strongyloidiasis is recognized as an important infection in immigrants and refugees. Public health and commercial reference laboratories need a simple and reliable method for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis to identify and treat cases and to prevent transmission. The recognized laboratory test of choice for diagnosis of strongyloidiasis is detection of disease specific antibodies, most commonly using a crude parasite extract for detection of IgG antibodies. Recently, a luciferase tagged recombinant protein of S. stercoralis, Ss-NIE-1, has been used in a luciferase immunoprecipitation system (LIPS) to detect IgG and IgG4 specific antibodies. To promote wider adoption of immunoassays for strongyloidiasis, we used the Ss-NIE-1 recombinant antigen without the luciferase tag and developed ELISA and fluorescent bead (Luminex) assays to detect S. stercoralis specific IgG4. We evaluated the assays using well-characterized sera from persons with or without presumed strongyloidiasis. The sensitivity and specificity of Ss-NIE-1 IgG4 ELISA were 95% and 93%, respectively. For the IgG4 Luminex assay, the sensitivity and specificity were 93% and 95%, respectively. Specific IgG4 antibody decreased after treatment in a manner that was similar to the decrease of specific IgG measured in the crude IgG ELISA. The sensitivities of the Ss-NIE-1 IgG4 ELISA and Luminex assays were comparable to the crude IgG ELISA but with improved specificities. However, the Ss-NIE-1 based assays are not dependent on native parasite materials and can be performed using widely available laboratory equipment. In conclusion, these newly developed Ss-NIE-1 based immunoassays can be readily adopted by public health and commercial reference laboratories for routine screening and clinical diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection in refugees and immigrants in the United States.

A Western blot assay using a recombinant protein, recombinant Baylisascaris procyonis RAG1 protein (rBpRAG1), was developed for the diagnosis of human baylisascariasis concurrently by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, and the National Reference Centre for Parasitology (NRCP) in Montreal, Canada. Assay performance was assessed by testing 275 specimens at the CDC and 405 specimens at the NRCP. Twenty specimens from 16 cases of baylisascariasis were evaluated. Eighteen were positive, with the assay correctly identifying 14 of 16 patients. The rBpRAG1 Western blot assay showed no cross-reactivity with Toxocara-positive serum and had an overall sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 98%.