A comparison of thin layer immunoassay (TIA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to Trypanosoma cruzi.

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with a new solid phase method, thin layer immunoassay (TIA) for the serodiagnosis of Chagas's disease. 156 sera from Brazilian adult patients who were subject to investigation for chronic Chagas's disease, and 100 sera from healthy Swedish blood donors were analysed. There was a very good agreement between the methods with regard to positive and negative results and it is concluded that either method could be used for sero-diagnosis of Chagas's disease depending upon the choice and facilities of the particular laboratory.