A Review of Immunologic Methods for the Diagnosis of Filariasis

Abstract

The author reviews the historical application of the skin test, complement-fixation reaction, precipitin test, hemagglutination and bentonite flocculation, and Prausnitz-Kuestner test to the diagnosis of various filarial infections in man and animals, with a discussion of areas requiring further study. He is of the opinion that with standardization of techniques, immunologic methods can be made to furnish a reliable means of diagnosis, notwithstanding the past unreliability of such methods. Five tables give grief summaries of pertinent papers in chronological order. A sixth table lists materials that have been used as antigens in the immunodiagnosis of filarial infections. A bibliography arranged in chronological order lists 125 papers covering the period from 1916 to 1962, and a supplementary list of references includes 22 recent papers on general aspects of the subject.