Schistosoma Mansoni ELISA Kit

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

Background:
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is caused by parasitic trematode worms such as Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, or S. japonicum. Humans can be infected by contacting contaminated water with Schistosoma cercariae which can percutaneously enter the body through exposed skin. During a period of several weeks, the juvenile parasites migrate through host tissue and subsequently develop into adult worms inside the blood vessels of the body. Once mature, the worms mate and females produce eggs. Some of these eggs travel to the bladder or intestine and are passed into the urine or stool. Symptoms are mainly caused by the body’s reaction to parasite eggs present in the affected tissues. Main symptoms are ash or itchy skin within few days; fever, chills, cough, and muscle aches within 1-2 months; abdominal pain, enlarged liver and blood in stool or urine during chronic stage. Diagnosis is based on egg detection in stool or urine, 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 Schistosoma mansoni soluble antigens. Specific antibodies in the sample will bind to these antigens 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 Schistosoma mansoni 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.