%0 Journal Article
%T A novel bead-based assay to detect specific antibody responses against Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spiralis simultaneously in sera of experimentally infected swine
%A Gertie CAM Bokken
%A Aldert A Bergwerff
%A Frans Knapen
%J BMC Veterinary Research
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1746-6148-8-36
%X Results indicated that the areas under the curve of the bead-based assay were 0.911 and 0.885 for T. gondii and T. spiralis, respectively, while that of the T. gondii ELISAs ranged between 0.837 and 0.930 and the T. spiralis ELISA was 0.879. Bead-based T. gondii assay had a sensitivity of 86% and specificity of 96%, while the ELISAs ranged between 64-84% and 93-99%, respectively. The bead-based T. spiralis assay had a sensitivity of 68% and specificity of 100% while the ELISA scored 72% and 95%, respectively. Marginal homogeneity was found between the T. gondii bead-based test and one of the T. gondii ELISAs. Moreover, in this test combination and between T. spiralis bead-based assay and respective ELISA, an excellent inter-rater agreement was found. When results of samples before expected seroconversion were removed from evaluation, notably higher test specifications were found.This new bead-based test, which detects T. gondii and T. spiralis antibodies simultaneously within each sample, can replace two indirect tests for the determination of respective antibodies separately, while performing equally well or better.Trichinella spiralis and Toxoplasma gondii are well known zoonoses which can pass from pigs to humans by consumption of raw or undercooked infected pork. In humans, most cases of T. gondii and T. spiralis infections go undetected; however, some cases can lead to mild disease. Other cases of trichinellosis can be very severe and may lead to myocarditis, encephalitis or pneumonia. Post natal acquired toxoplasmosis can incidentally lead to encephalitis and necrotizing retinochoroiditis, while congenital transmitted toxoplasmosis can lead to mental retardation, convulsions, spasticity, cerebral palsy, deafness and severely impaired vision in the offspring. In rare occasions, both these infections can lead to death.These days, in Europe, trichinellosis is rarely reported in association with the consumption of pork from conventionally raised pigs [1]. An EU re
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/8/36