Acid fast staining versus ELISA for detection of Cryptosporidium in stool

A prospective study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of ELISA in detection of Cryptosporidium Specific Antigens (CSA) in stool specimens of patients attending various OPDs in a Delhi Hospital. A total of 216 consecutive faecal specimens were examined microscopically after modified acid fast staining. An ELISA was also performed using ELI-WFLL CRYPTO detection kit following the manufacturer's instructions for detection of CSA in stool specimens. Taking microscopy as the gold standard ELISA was found to be 100% sensitive and 99.07% specific in detection of Cryptosporidium spp. The test is easy to perform and interpret.