Uncinaria stenocephala: assessment of antigens for the immunodiagnosis of canine uncinariosis

Although Uncinaria stenocephala is the most frequent hookworm in the intestine of dogs from Northern, Central and Southern Europe, little is known about its host-parasite relationship. Three groups of sera from dogs (Group 1: dogs naturally infected only by U. stenocephala; Group 2: helminth-free dogs at necropsy, and Group 3: dogs parasitized by other helminths) were analyzed by ELISA using U. stenocephala antigens from adult worms (somatic and excretory-secretory antigens) and from L3 larvae (somatic antigens). All three sources of antigens were found to be suitable for immunodiagnosis of canine uncinariosis with up to 90% efficacy. However, an analysis to assess the diagnostic value of the different antigens demonstrated that the adult excretory-secretory antigens had a higher diagnostic efficacy (96.7%), indicating that this is the best antigen source for the diagnosis of Uncinaria infection.