Effect of treatment on serum antibody to Hymenolepis nana detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure serum immunoglobulin G antibodies in 65 patients infected with Hymenolepis nana and 30 noninfected patients. Antibody was detected in 51 of 65 (sensitivity, 79%) and 5 of 30 H. nana-negative patients (specificity, 83%). Nine patients infected with H. nana were treated with praziquantel (20 to 25 mg/kg of body weight). Antibody disappeared from the sera at 90 days in six patients, five of whom had eliminated H. nana. Antibody persisted in three patients in whom H. nana infection did not clear after treatment. The H. nana ELISA had a high rate of cross-reactions with sera from patients with cysticercosis (8 of 29 [28%]) and hydatidosis (8 of 23 [35%]). The ELISA for H. nana may be useful for defining the epidemiology of H. nana infections, especially in areas free from cysticercosis and hydatidosis.