| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
WEERASOORIYA M.V. Univ.of Ruhuna, Faculty of Med., Senior Lecturer, 医学部, 助教授
FUJIMAKI Yasunori Nagasaki Univ., Institute of Tropical Med., Lecturer, 熱帯医学研究所, 講師 (10209083)
ITOH Makoto Aichi Med.Univ., School of Med., Associate Prof., 医学部, 助教授 (90137117)
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| Research Abstract |
1. Detecting filarial antigen in serum is, at present, the most reliable method of diagnosis. However, the collection and storage of sera is often problematic in field conditions. We have deve1oped an ELISA which uses the whole blood absorbed on a filter paper and dried for storage.
2. Using the above ELISA, a total of 2763 people in Matara were examined. The antigen positive rate was 14.3%, whereas the microfilaraemia rate was only 3.2%, indicating that the conventional method resulted in a large number of false, negatives.
3. A most serious disadvantage with imrnunodiagnosis is that it requires collecting blood samples. We utilized urine instead of serum to detect filarial antibodies, and developed a new ELISA system detecting filaria specific IgG4. The ELISA gave, so far, near 100% sensitivity and specificity. A large-scale trial has to be carried out to verify the usefulness of the ELISA in field conditions. If urine can be used for serum, it will greatly facilitate immunodiagnosis in the field.
4. For a single-dose treatment, diethylcarbamazine (DEC), albendazole and ivermectin have been tested. The efficacy of DEC was confirmed by this time, and the combination of albendazole and ivermectin seems to be a very promising regimen.
5. Clinical studies on elephantiasis and blood pressure among microfilaraemics were carried out. The data are under analysis.
6. Seasonal prevalence of Culex quinquefasciatus, and transmission efficiency of the mosquito have been studied.
7. Geographic Information System was first introduced in Matara to describe and analyze distribution of filariasis .
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