[The usefulness of ELISA for diagnosis of trichinellosis in pigs and wild boars].

ELISA can be used to measure produced antibodies or Trichinella spp. antigens in the samples. They are detected with antibodies linked to an enzyme that reacts with a substrate and generate a colour reaction. The optical density (OD) of the reaction is measured spectrophotometrically. ELISA assays can be done in several different procedures called "direct", "indirect", "sa ndwich", and "competition" ELISA. Since the 1970s, the studies have been done on improving or replacing direct methods of Trichinella diagnosis with serological methods based on the ELISA. When somatic antigens of L1 T. spiralis were used, the specificity of the ELISA was poor due to a high probability of cross-reactions with other pathogens. During the 1980s the specificity of the ELISA was improved by excretory-secretory (E/S) antigens obtained during Trichinella muscle larvae incubation in vitro. Recently a synthetic glycan antigen has been developed and the increasing of ELISA specificity and sensitivity was noticed. The sensitivity of the ELISA using an E/S antigen ranging from 93.1 to 99.2% but the specificity from 90.6 to 99.4%. The ELISA method is relatively simple to apply, reliable, readily standardized and provides an acceptable balance of sensitivity and specificity. But all modified procedures should be validated. In Poland, the studies on the usefulness of ELISA for antibodies detection against T. spiralis in pigs and wild animals are limited. Own ELISA procedure was prepared in Pathophysiology Lab. in W. Stefański Institute of Parasitology of PAS. ELISA was used to examine IgG level against L1 T. spiralis in pigs and wild boars serum samples. Of 1474 pig samples, only 12 were positive. Of 1880 wild boar samples only 14 were positive. The results of this study are comparable with performance obtained using commercial sets. The results showed the usefulness of ELISA for T. spiralis diagnosis in pigs and wild boars and confirmed the possibility of use the ELISA test for application in the slaughterhouse.