Development and Application of an ELISA Assay Using Excretion/Secretion Proteins from Epimastigote Forms of T. cruzi (ESEA Antigens) for the Diagnosis of Chagas Disease.

An indirect enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) for Trypanosoma cruzi was developed using epimastigote secretion/excretion proteins (ESEA antigens) obtained from axenic culture supernatants. A panel of 120 serum samples from subjects with confirmed Chagas disease (n = 50), healthy controls (n = 50), and patients with other parasitic diseases (n = 20) was used to evaluate the new ESEA-based ELISA (ELISA(ESEA)). This new test had excellent sensitivity (98%) and acceptable specificity (88%).