Use of the Bentonite Flocculation Test for the Diagnosis of Schistosomiasis: Standardization and Evaluation

• Published in: Health services reports 1972-01, Vol.87 (6), p.550-554
• Main Authors: Allain, Dorothy S., Chisholm, Emily S., Kagan, Irving G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens; Antiserum; Bentonite; Charcoal; Eggs; Flocculation tests; Parasitic diseases; Reactivity; Schistosomiasis; Specimens
• ISSN: 0090-2918
• DOI: 10.2307/4594600

To overcome some deficiencies in the cholesterol-lecithin slide flocculation test used in the diagnostic serology laboratory, Center for Disease Control, during the routine diagnosis of schistosomiasis, a bentonite flocculation (BF) test procedure was evaluated. A total of 278 serum specimens from patients with proved cases of parasitic and nonparasitic diseases were tested. In addition, 95 serum specimens from Rhodesian natives infected with schistosomes were evaluated. Sensitivity was 80 percent in the BF test with serums from patients having clinical schistosomiasis and 57 percent with serums from Rhodesians, living in an endemic area, who passed eggs of schistosomes but without clinical symptoms. Results of the BF test were evaluated by comparing them with results of the cholesterol-lecithin flocculation, charcoal card, complement-fixation, fluorescent antibody, and indirect hemagglutination tests. The greatest sensitivity for all techniques was obtained with serums from patients in the 1- to 20-year age group. Reactivities were higher for females than for males. Evaluation of these data suggests that the BF test for schistosomiasis can be used in the laboratory that does routine diagnoses with specimens which are not suitable for testing by other flocculation procedures.