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Validation of a Western Blot for the detection of anti-Trichinella spp. antibodies in domestic pigs

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Abstract

Trichinellosis is a zoonotic disease in humans caused by Trichinella spp. According to international regulations and guidelines, serological surveillance can be used to demonstrate the absence of Trichinella spp. in a defined domestic pig population. Most enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests presently available do not yield 100% specificity, and therefore, a complementary test is needed to confirm the diagnosis of any initial ELISA seropositivity. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a Western Blot assay based on somatic Trichinella spiralis muscle stage (L1) antigen using Bayesian modeling techniques. A total of 295 meat juice and serum samples from pigs negative for Trichinella larvae by artificial digestion, including 74 potentially cross-reactive sera of pigs with other nematode infections, and 93 meat juice samples from pigs infected with Trichinella larvae were included in the study. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the Western Blot were ranged from 95.8% to 96.0% and from 99.5% to 99.6%, respectively. A sensitivity analysis showed that the model outcomes were hardly influenced by changes in the prior distributions, providing a high confidence in the outcomes of the models. This validation study demonstrated that the Western Blot is a suitable method to confirm samples that reacted positively in an initial ELISA.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Verena Eidam, Ramona Graf, and Christine Wittwer for excellent technical assistance. All experiments were performed according to the current law of Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Institute of Parasitology, P.O. Box 8466, 3001, Bern, Switzerland

    C. F. Frey & B. Gottstein

  2. SAFOSO, Bremgartenstrasse 109A, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    M. E. Schuppers & U. Kihm

  3. Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, 12277, Berlin, Germany

    K. Nöckler

  4. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55t, P.O. Box 466, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    A. Marinculić

  5. Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    E. Pozio

Authors
  1. C. F. Frey
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  2. M. E. Schuppers
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  3. K. Nöckler
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  4. A. Marinculić
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  5. E. Pozio
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  6. U. Kihm
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  7. B. Gottstein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. F. Frey.

Additional information

Frey and Schuppers contributed equally to this work.

This work was funded by the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office, grant number 1.06.03.

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Frey, C.F., Schuppers, M.E., Nöckler, K. et al. Validation of a Western Blot for the detection of anti-Trichinella spp. antibodies in domestic pigs. Parasitol Res 104, 1269–1277 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1321-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1321-9

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