Serological diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi: evaluation of three enzyme immunoassays and an indirect immunofluorescent assay

Chagas' disease is an important cause of heart failure in Latin America, but is rare in the United States. The immigration of persons from endemic countries increases the potential of encountering patients with the disease. Concerns have also been raised about the introduction of Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes the disease, into the blood supply and during organ transplantation. To compare Chagas' antibody tests that are available in the United States, we evaluated three IgG ELISAs, CeLLabs T. cruzi ELISA, Hemagen Chagas' kit and IVD Research Chagas' Serum Microwell ELISA, and MarDx indirect immunofluorescent assays. The CeLLabs and Hemagen IgG ELISAs had 100 % agreement, sensitivity and specificity. The IVD Research IgG ELISA had 94·6 % agreement, 100 % sensitivity and 93 % specificity.