INTRODUCTION

The alphaWell Toxoplasma ELISAs are intended for the determination of IgG and IgM class antibodies as well as the avidity determination of IgG-class antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in serum or plasma.

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of a toxoplasmosis that occurs worldwide with high prevalence.

The development cycle of Toxoplasma gondii involves three phases:

The intestinal phase with production of sexual forms (gamogony) takes only place in enterocytes of definitive hosts. Only domestic cats, and several other felid species of little epidemiological significance, can function as definitive hosts. Only extraintestinal development is seen in intermediate hosts (pigs, sheep, and many other animal species) as well as indeed-and hosts (humans). Following primary infection of a cat with Toxoplasma cysts in raw meat, asexual reproductive forms at first develop in the small intestine epithelium, with sexually differentiated stages and oocysts following later. The oocysts are shed in feces after prepatent period of three to nine days. When cats are infected with sporulated oocysts, the prepatent period is extended to 20-35 days. Oocyst sheeding lasts for only a few days to a maximum of three weeks, but can be highly intensive.

External phase: Oocysts excreted in cat feces sporulate at room temperature within two to four days, rendering them infective. Kept moist, they remain infective for up to five years and are not killed by standard disinfectant agents.

Extraintestinal phase: This phase follows a peroral ingestion with oocysts or cysts and is observed in intermediate hosts (dogs, sheep, pigs, other vertebrates, birds).

Cases are differentiated as to time of acquisition, i.e., postnatal and prenatal infections (see tab.).

Infections may be diagnosed by

• Microscopy: Determination of acute infection by coloured Giemsa or marked antibodies.
• Serology: Determination of specific antibodies based on the ELISA-technique

ANTIGENS

• IgG: Toxoplasma gondii (Lysate) antigens
• IgM: P30

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS

COMMERCIAL PRODUCT