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Serological Diagnosis of Human Babesiosis by IgG Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

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Abstract

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of IgG antibodies to Babesia microti antigen was developed. B. microti antigens were harvested from experimentally infected hamster blood and used as a coating antigen. The sensitivity and specificity of the IgG ELISA relative to immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA) testing was 95.5% and 94.1%, respectively. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve was 0.987. No cross-reactivity of serum samples collected from patients infected with Toxoplasma gondii, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella quintana, Dengue virus, or West Nile virus was detected. Cross-reactivity was observed with one of 35 sera from patients infected with Bartonella henselae. These results indicate that the established ELISA methods could be utilized as an accurate measure for the clinical diagnosis of human babesiosis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Maria E. Aguero-Rosenfeld for providing positive serum samples and Dr. Jason Trama for his critical review of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research and Development, Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, L.L.C., Mount Laurel, NJ, 08054, USA

    Chien Chang Loa, Martin E. Adelson, Eli Mordechai, Israel Raphaelli & Richard C. Tilton

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  1. Chien Chang Loa
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  2. Martin E. Adelson
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  3. Eli Mordechai
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  4. Israel Raphaelli
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  5. Richard C. Tilton
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Correspondence to Richard C. Tilton.

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Loa, C.C., Adelson, M.E., Mordechai, E. et al. Serological Diagnosis of Human Babesiosis by IgG Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay. Curr Microbiol 49, 385–389 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-004-4373-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-004-4373-9

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