A novel monoclonal antibody-based immunoenzymatic assay for epidemiological surveillance of the vector snails of Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda: Digenea)

Abstract

Fasciolosis is a globally distributed snail-borne disease which requires economic consideration due to its enormous impact on veterinary medicine. During recent decades, this parasitosis has also shown increasing prevalence in human populations worldwide. The dissemination and successful transmission of fasciolosis ultimately depends on the existence of susceptible snails that act as intermediate hosts. Therefore, to accomplish effective control of this disease, surveillance and detection of the infected intermediate host would be essential. The screening of trematodes within snails using classical parasitological examination of the larvae can be unreliable (sensitivity and specificity vary depending on the time of infection and the experience of the observer) and relatively costly when using molecular biological methods during large-scale monitoring. Here we propose a novel monoclonal antibody-based immunoenzymatic assay to detect ongoing Fasciola hepatica infection in lymnaeid snails. Anti-F. hepatica rediae mouse monoclonal antibodies were generated and used to develop a double monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for parasite detection. Fasciola hepatica-infected and uninfected laboratory-reared Galba cubensis and Pseudosuccinea columella were used for assessment of the developed ELISA. Experimentally infected snails were dissected and examined for parasite larvae as the "gold standard" method. Sensitivity results were 100% for both snail species, while specificity was 98% for G. cubensis and 100% for P. columella. No cross-reactivity was detected in lymnaeids infected with Trichobilharzia sp. or Cotylophoron sp. The ELISA enabled detection of the infection from day 8 p.i. in G. cubensis while in P. columella it was noted as early as day 4. To our knowledge no previous immunoassays have been reported to detect helminth-infected snails and the developed sandwich ELISA method is therefore suggested for infection status validation in natural populations of lymnaeid snails.

Keywords: ELISA; Epidemiology; Fasciolosis; Lymnaeidae; Snail-borne disease control.