ABSTRACT
Immunosuppressed patients, particularly transplant recipients, can develop severe strongyloidiasis. This study aimed to detect anti-Strongyloides IgG antibodies in a panel of sera from liver transplant patients. Two techniques were used: ELISA as the initial screening test and Western blotting as a confirmatory test. ELISA reactivity of 10.9% (32/294) was observed. The 40-30 kDa fraction was recognised in 93.7% (30/32) of the patients, resulting in a positivity rate of 10.2%. These data highlight the importance of serological screening for Strongyloides stercoralis infection in liver transplant recipients.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Helminth , Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay , Immunoglobulin G , Liver Transplantation , Strongyloides stercoralis , Strongyloidiasis , Transplant Recipients , Humans , Strongyloidiasis/diagnosis , Strongyloidiasis/immunology , Strongyloidiasis/blood , Antibodies, Helminth/blood , Animals , Strongyloides stercoralis/immunology , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Blotting, Western , Male , Mass Screening/methods , Middle Aged , Female , Adult , Neglected Diseases/diagnosis , Neglected Diseases/epidemiology , Neglected Diseases/immunology , Immunocompromised Host , AgedABSTRACT
Leprosy is an ancient disease that remains endemic and continues to be a major public health problem in some tropical countries, where it has been internationally recognized as being linked to the underdevelopment conditions. The natural course of the disease covers a wide variety of clinical conditions with systemic involvement. In this paper, we review the findings obtained in studies of the pathological mechanisms of leprosy, including a survey of the literature and of our own work. The understanding and control of the wide variety of clinical conditions should help improve patient care and thus prevent the onset of physical impairment and the stigma of the disease.