The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in the diagnosis

This study included 72 persons with ova of S. mansoni and/or S. haematobium in their stool or urine, 16 persons from Schistosomiasis-endemic areas but without demonstration of ova, and 9 healthy persons from areas with no schistosomiasis who served as controls. The sera were examined with ELISA using antigen from adult S. mansoni worms. All parasitologically proven cases had extinction values higher than those of controls. False positive results were obtained in 11 out of 16 persons from endemic areas but without ova. These results may have been due to cross-reactions, a past history of schistosomiasis or a missed diagnosis of S. mansoni-infections. Cases with S. haematobium and cases with S. mansoni showed signifcantly different extinction values. The differences between both sexes were not statistically significant.