A serodiagnostic assay by microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for human anisakiasis using a monoclonal antibody specific for Anisakis larvae antigen.

A serodiagnostic assay system to detect human anisakiasis is described. This assay uses a microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with monoclonal antibody An2 that recognizes the antigen specifically found in Anisakis simplex larvae. The data showed that sera from infected patients reacted strongly with the A. simplex larvae antigen that was immobilized with monoclonal antibody An2 on microplates. Patients' IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE reacted strongly with An2-defined antigen at 4 or 5 weeks and at 1 or 7 days, respectively, after the onset of clinical symptoms of anisakiasis. However, sera from healthy persons did not react, even though they often ate raw fish. This indicates a high diagnostic specificity of this assay system for clinically manifested anisakiasis.