Abstract

Specific antibody test in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is still the main mode of serological diagnosis of cysticercosis. Of different techniques of antibody test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (micro-ELISA) has widely been applied. This study was undertaken to observe whether diagnostic capability can be improved by applying more sensitive techniques such as Protein A-ELISA and avidin biotin complex ELISA (ABC-ELISA). When evaluated using 115 sera of human cysticercosis, the antibody positive rates were not significantly improved in Protein A-ELISA (82.6%) and in ABC-ELISA (86.1%) than in micro-ELISA (81.7%). The specificities, evaluated in 165 sera from other diseases and normal controls, were significantly improved (88.5% by micro-ELISA, 93.3% by Protein A-ELISA and 93.8% by ABC-ELISA). Antibody levels (absorbance, abs.) in individual serum were correlated well (r = 0.83-0.86) each other. An actual benefit of Protein A-ELISA and ABC-ELISA was that they needed smaller amount of test sample.