DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN TRICHINELLOSIS: PITFALLS IN THE USE OF A UNIQUE IMMUNOSEROLOGICAL TECHNIQUE

Serum samples belonging to three outbreaks in Argentina (47 patients) taken at different times post-ingestion were analysed employing IIF and ELISA simultaneously. Results show that: a) the number of patients diagnosed by a unique technique, especially by ELISA (31 patients), was lower than the one obtained by the simultaneous use of both assays (38 patients); b) four patients out of the seven diagnosed by a unique technique were negative by the other assay over the period of time evaluated. Therefore, It can be concluded that the use of a sole immunoserological technique can not only lead to the delay in the detection but also to the misdiagnosis of this parasitic Infection. KEY W O R D S: immunodiagnosis, human trichinellosis, ELISA, indirect immunofluorescense. Although the diagnosis of human trichinellosis depends on a combination of epidemiological anamnesis, clinical signs and symptoms and laboratory tests, the detection of specific host antibo-dies (Abs) are commonly the only reliable diagnostic procedure. The most widely employed techniques for detection of human trichinellosis in epidemic out-breaks are the indirect immunofluorescense test (IIF