A serological follow-up of toxocariasis patients after chemotherapy based on the detection of IgG, IgA, and IgE antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Abstract

A serological follow-up study was carried out on 27 children (1-12 years old) with visceral and/or ocular toxocariasis, after treatment with thiabendazole. A total of 159 serum samples were collected in a period ranging from 22-116 months. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (IgG, IgA, and IgE ELISA) were standardized, using excretory-secretory antigens obtained from the second-stage larvae of a Toxocara canis culture. The sensitivity found for the IgG, IgA, and IgE ELISA, as determined in visceral toxocariasis patients, was 100%, 47.8%, and 78.3%, respectively. Approximately 84% of the patients presented single or multiple parasitosis, as diagnosed by stool examination, yet such variables did not appear to affect the anti-Toxocara immune response. Titers of specific IgE antibody showed a significant decrease during the first year after treatment, followed by a decrease in the IgA titers in the second year, and in the IgG titers from the fourth year onwards. Sera from all patients presented high avidity IgG antibodies, indicating that they were in the chronic phase of the disease. Moreover, 1 year after treatment, the level of leukocytes, eosinophils, and anti-A isohemagglutinin in patients decreased significantly. The present data suggest that IgE antibodies plus eosinophil counts are helpful parameters for patient follow-up after chemotherapy.