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An immunogenic Onchocerca volvulus antigen: a specific and early marker of infection
1Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Abstract:
Onchocerciasis (river blindness) is a serious health problem and a severe obstacle to social and economic development, especially in Africa. A complementary DNA fragment coding for an Onchocerca volvulus antigen (OV-16) was cloned and expressed in the plasmid vector pCG808fx. Immune responses to this O. volvulus-specific recombinant antigen were detectable in patients with documented onchocerciasis; the antibody response was also detectable at 3 months and at more than 1 year before infection could otherwise be detected in humans and in chimpanzees experimentally infected with O. volvulus third-stage larvae.