Fasciola Hepatica ELISA Kit

Intended Use:
The Bordier Fasciola hepatica ELISA kit is intended for the quantitative detection of IgG antibodies against Fasciola hepatica in human serum. Serology is an aid for diagnosis and cannot be used as the sole method of diagnosis.

Background:
Fascioliasis is mainly caused by the trematode Fasciola hepatica (liver fluke). Humans can be infected by eating raw watercress or other water plants contaminated with infective parasite larval stages. The immature larval flukes first migrates through the liver parenchyma, causing traumatic liver dysfunction, and later to the bile ducts, where they develop into mature adult flukes, which produce eggs. In the early phase, symptoms can include gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain/tenderness. During the chronic phase, the clinical manifestations may be similar or more discrete, reflecting inflammation and blockage of bile ducts, which can be intermittent. Diagnosis is based on egg detection in stool and a positive result by serological testing.

Principle and Presentation:
The kit provides all the material needed to perform 96 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) on breakable microtitration wells sensitized with Fasciola hepatica recombinant antigen. Specific antibodies in the sample will bind to the antigen and washing will remove unspecific antibodies. The presence of parasite specific antibodies is detected with a Protein A – alkaline phosphatase conjugate. A second washing step will remove unbound conjugate. Revealing bound antibodies is made by the addition of pNPP substrate which turns yellow in the presence of alkaline phosphatase. Color intensity is proportional to the amount of Fasciola hepatica specific antibodies in the sample. Potassium phosphate is added to stop the reaction. Absorbance at 405 nm is read using an ELISA microplate reader.

The test can be performed with automatic systems, but this must be validated by the user.