Ascaris ELISA Kit

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

Background:
Ascariasis is a worldwide helminthic infection caused by some soil transmitted helminths of the genus Ascaris (mostly A. Lumbricoides and A. suum). It occurs most often in children in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in areas with poor sanitation and hygiene. Humans can be infected by accidentally ingesting infectious eggs upon contaminated soil, water or food. After ingestion of eggs, larvae hatch in the small intestine and migrate mainly through the bloodstream into the liver, and then to the lungs, where both they can cause damages, which are dependent upon infection intensity. From the lungs, moulded larvae travel via trachea to the throat, where most of them are swallowed, and thus reach the gastro-intestinal tract. The larvae mature into adult worms in the small intestine, where they live and sexually reproduce for a very long time period, up to years. Most infected people do not show any symptoms. However, in some cases, symptoms appear on the lung stage (persistent cough, shortness of breath and wheezing) or at the intestinal stage (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea). Diagnosis is based on the detection of eggs in stool, signs and symptoms plus a history of exposure 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 Ascaris solubles coelomics 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 Ascaris 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.