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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2003, p. 623-626, Vol. 41, No. 2
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.2.623-626.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Evaluation of Three Commercial Assays for Detection of Giardia and Cryptosporidium Organisms in Fecal Specimens

Stephanie P. Johnston,1* Melissa M. Ballard,2 Michael J. Beach,1 Louise Causer,1 and Patricia P. Wilkins1

Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services,1 the Atlanta Research and Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia2

Received 20 September 2002/ Returned for modification 18 October 2002/ Accepted 3 November 2002

There is an increasing demand for diagnostic testing for Giardia intestinalis (G. lamblia) and Cryptosporidium parvum, with a priority being placed on obtaining diagnostic results in an efficient and timely manner. Several commercial companies have developed rapid diagnostic tests that are simple to perform and can be completed in less time than traditional methods for detecting Giardia and Cryptosporidium. We compared one of these rapid tests, the ImmunoCard STAT! (Meridian Bioscience, Inc.) lateral-flow immunoassay, with the MERIFLUOR direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) test, the ProSpecT EZ microplate assay for Giardia and the ProSpecT microplate assay for Cryptosporidium, and modified Kinyoun's acid-fast stained smears for the detection of Cryptosporidium using 246 specimens. The MERIFLUOR DFA (Meridian Bioscience, Inc.) test detected the largest number of cases (32 Giardia and 37 Cryptosporidium) infections and was used to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of the other tests. For Giardia, the sensitivities of the ImmunoCard STAT! and the ProSpecT Giardia EZ microplate assay (Alexon-Trend, Inc.) were 81 and 91%, respectively. For detection of Cryptosporidium, the sensitivities of the ImmunoCard STAT!, the ProSpecT Cryptosporidium microplate assay (Alexon-Trend, Inc.), and modified Kinyoun's acid-fast stained smears were 68, 70, and 78%, respectively. Test specificities were equal to or greater than 99%. Specimens with very small numbers of organisms were not detected by the ImmunoCard STAT!, the ProSpecT microplate assay or modified Kinyoun's acid-fast stained smears.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Parasitic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, MS F-36, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724. Phone: (770) 488-7044. Fax: (770) 488-4253. E-mail: sjohnston{at}cdc.gov.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2003, p. 623-626, Vol. 41, No. 2
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.2.623-626.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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