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Published on: December 12, 2011
Semi-quantitative scoring of an immunochromatographic test for circulating filarial antigen
Cédric B Chesnais1, François Missamou, Sébastien D S Pion
1Unité Mixte Internationale 233, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier, France; Programme National de Lutte contre l'Onchocercose, Ministère de la Santé et de la Population, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases Research Centre, Yaoundé, Cameroon; Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
Abstract:
Abstract. The value of a semi-quantitative scoring of the filarial antigen test (Binax Now Filariasis card test, ICT) results was evaluated during a field survey in the Republic of Congo. One hundred and thirty-four (134) of 774 tests (17.3%) were clearly positive and were scored 1, 2, or 3; and 11 (1.4%) had questionable results. Wuchereria bancrofti microfilariae (mf) were detected in 41 of those 133 individuals with an ICT test score ≥ 1 who also had a night blood smear; none of the 11 individuals with questionable ICT results harbored night mf. Cuzick's test showed a significant trend for higher microfilarial densities in groups with higher ICT scores (P < 0.001). The ICT scores were also significantly correlated with blood mf counts. Because filarial antigen levels provide an indication of adult worm infection intensity, our results suggest that semi-quantitative reading of the ICT may be useful for grading the intensity of filarial infections in individuals and populations.
