Performance evaluation of existing immunoassays for Clonorchis sinensis infection in China

BACKGROUND: Clonorchiasis ranks among the most important food-borne parasitic diseases in China. However, due to low compliance to traditional fecal examination techniques in the general population and medical personnel, immunodiagnosis is expected. This study evaluated, in parallel, the performance of four immunodiagnostic kits detecting clonorchiasis in China. RESULTS: A bank with 475 sera was established in this study. Except for the low performance of the kit detecting IgM, the other three kits detecting IgG showed sensitivities ranging from 81.51% (194/238) to 99.16% (236/238). Higher sensitivity was presented in heavy infection intensity [89.47% (68/76) to 100% (76/76)]. Among the four kits, the overall specificity varied from 73.42% (174/237) to 87.34% (207/237). It was observed that the specificity was lower in the sera of the participants living in clonorchiasis-endemic areas but without any parasite infection [67.5% (81/120) to 90% (108/120)], as compared to those from the non-endemic area [94% (47/50) to 98% (49/50)]. The cross-reaction rate varied from 14.93% (10/67) to 31.34% (21/67). Youden’s index was -0.022, 0.689, 0.726, and 0.802 for kits T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. Repeatability was high in all four kits. CONCLUSIONS: Three immunodiagnosis kits targeting IgG antibody had high performance on detecting chronic Clonorchis sinensis infection, but that detecting IgM antibody had not. The kits detecting IgG antibody also showed high sensitivity in heavy infection intensity. Research on immunological diagnosis of clonorchiasis is expected to be strengthened to improve the sensitivity in light infection and specificity. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2612-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.