Analysis of antibody levels before and after praziquantel treatment in human paragonimiasis heterotremus.

Enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) and Western blot analysis were used to determine IgG antibody levels in patients infected with Paragonimus heterotremus from Thailand before and after treatment with praziquantel. An IgG antibody ELISA showed that a substantial reduction of antibody levels occurred after one year of treatment. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot analysis showed that P. heterotremus adult extract is highly complex, consisting of more than 9 antigenic bands with molecular size ranging from 123 kDa to less than 12.3 kDa. Two prominent bands of 31.5 kDa and 18.5 kDa were found to show consistent reactions with all serum samples from the pretreatment group. There was a marked reduction in the intensity of the reaction of the 31.5 kDa band with each serum sample from post-treatment patients but the other bands disappeared during the one year interval.

Scanning electron microscopy of cuticular surface of the adults Paragonimus heterotremus in Phitsanulok, Thailand.

Scanning electron microscope observation of surface structure was made on adult Paragonimus heterotremus (Phitsanulok, Thailand) and the surface topography of the anterior end, suckers, body cuticle and papillae was described. The numerous thorn-like tegumentary spines were distributed all over the surface. The spines were well-developed and branched. The papillae were divided into two types: dome-shaped and ciliated. Two pairs of papillae were seen around the lip of the oral sucker, while those around the ventral sucker were not evident.

Serodiagnosis of human paragonimiasis caused by Paragonimus heterotremus.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect hemagglutination tests (IHA) were evaluated for serodiagnosis of human paragonimiasis caused by Paragonimus heterotremus using homologous adult worm extract as antigen. IgG-ELISA was the most sensitive, being positive in all paragonimiasis sera tested while IHA and IgA-ELISA gave 88% and 59% positive rates respectively. Cross reactivity in IgG-ELISA was detected with fascioliasis sera, producing overall assay specificity of 97%. It is suggested that IgG-ELISA is a reliable serodiagnostic test for human paragonimiasis caused by Paragonimus heterotremus.