RESUMO
Two batches of crude antigens extracted from adult Opisthorchis viverrini worms were compared. One was derived from adult worms harvested from the livers of laboratory infected hamsters and another was obtained from worms sedimented from the faeces of opisthorchiasis patients following treatment with Praziquantel. SDS-PAGE and Coomassie brilliant blue staining revealed that the two preparations had similar protein components of which the predominant ones were the 17-18 kDa doublet. The antigens were used in an indirect ELISA for the detection of antibodies against O. viverrini in the sera of four groups of patients, ie. patients with opisthorchiasis (group 1), patients with mixed infections of O. viverrini and other parasites (group 2), patients with other parasitic infections (group 3), and normal-heathy, parasite-free individuals (group 4). The sensitivity of the test was high (91-92%), regardless of the batch of the antigen used. However, its specificity was relatively low (70-80%). Cross-reaction was observed with patients infected with Paragonimus heterotremus, Schistosoma spp.; Taenia spp.; Trichinella spiralis; Strongyloides stercoralis; hookworms; Plasmodium spp.; hookworms and Plasmodium spp.; S. stercoralis, Blastocystis hominis and yeast; and hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and P. falciparum. Western blot analysis revealed that sera of patients infected with these heterologous organisms contained antibodies reactive to O. viverrini antigenic components ranging from Mr 15.5 to 144.