[Immunodiagnosis in 647 suspected clinical cases of toxoplasmosis].

Though Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe pathology in human, in most of the cases it produces only asymptomatic infection. So, it is important to dispose some methods capables to discriminate between acute and chronic infections. An indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT), dye test (DT) and complement fixation test (CFT) were performed in 647 sera from patients suspected of having toxoplasmosis infection.

[Diagnosis of human neurocysticercosis by ELISA-IgG using a purified antigen].

An analysis of immunodiagnosis data for human neurocysticercosis (NC) by ELISA-IgG, complement fixation test (CFT) and indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT) in 67 serum samples and 54 cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) from confirmed cases of different hospitals from the Metropolitan Area of Santiago, Chile, was performed. The cut-off value was determined by using serum samples from 60 apparently healthy persons, whose absorbance values were the mean plus three standard deviations. The sensitivity of ELISA was 97.

[Diagnostic valve of ELISA-IgG for trichinosis using Melcher's antigen].

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for trichinosis using a Melcher's antigen was developed for the detection of IgG antibodies in 41 serum samples from patients confirmed or suspected to have trichinosis by strong clinical and epidemiological evidences. ELISA- IgG was compared with a precipitin test (PT), a bentonite floculation test (BFT) and an indirect hemagglutination test (IHAT). The cut-off value was determined using serum samples from 67 apparently healthy persons employing two serum dilutions (1:100 and 1:500) with three standard deviations (SD).

[Systemic toxocariasis in the adult patient].

We report a retrospective review of eight patients (one male), aged 19 to 31 years old, with systemic toxocariasis (visceral larva migrans), seen at the Salvador Hospital of Santiago. Four cases had heart involvement, three had lung involvement and in two, several organs were affected. Seven cases had leukocytosis (range 14, 5 to 160 x 10(9)/l) and all had eosinophilia (35 to 90%).

[Familial seroepidemiology of toxocariasis].

With the objective of defining the intrafamiliar distribution pattern of the infection and illness caused by Toxocara sp., 78 infected families (356 people) were studied for 30 months. At the same time 28 families free of infection were studied, as a control group (97 people).