Work

Serodiagnosis of Human Strongyloidiasis in Brazil and Peru Using Strongyloides venezuelensis Antigens: A Comparative Study in Endemic Settings

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Strongyloidiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by the soil-transmitted helminth Strongyloides stercoralis. Immunological assays employing heterologous antigens from Strongyloides venezuelensis represent a valuable alternative to parasitological diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of different antigenic preparations derived from S. venezuelensis infective larvae (L3) for the detection of anti-Strongyloides IgG antibodies in sera from Brazilian and Peruvian individuals. Total soluble (S-L3), membrane (M-L3), cuticular (C-L3) and excretory/secretory (ES-L3) antigenic extracts were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall, Brazilian sera showed higher reactivity than Peruvian sera to all antigenic preparations. Both S-iL3 and ES-L3 demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance with samples from both countries, showing 100% sensitivity and specificities of 97.4% and 100%, respectively. When a single cut-off value applicable to both populations was adopted, S-L3 showed the best overall performance, achieving 100% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity at a cut-off of 0.367, or 97.5% sensitivity and 100% specificity at a cut-off of 0.416, followed by ES-L3, C-L3 and M-L3. Heterologous antigenic extracts from S. venezuelensis, particularly S-L3, may represent a useful alternative for the serological diagnosis of S. stercoralis infection in endemic settings such as Brazil and Peru.

Source: Parasite Immunology

DOI: 10.1111/pim.70109