Vol. 10, Issue 3, Part A (2025)

Author(s): Vijayashanthi Ramalingam and Raman Muthuswamy

Abstract: Lymphatic filariasis is a vector borne parasitic diseases causing an important public health problem, affecting a significant proportion of individuals in terms of disease affliction, economy and sociological status in India. The Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) launched in 1997 has covered over 570 million people in 48 countries with a motto of elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis as a public health problem by 2020. To monitor the elimination programme antigen detection tests using Og4C3 and immunochromatographic diagnostic test (ICT), developed in the recent past to detect the presence of infection are widely used. However, these tests may not be useful for assessment of transmission during post-MDA surveillance and hence there is a need for marker(s) that detect the exposure to filarial infection. In order to develop such marker(s), heterologous antigens from the filarial parasite Setaria digitata were explored by reacting with sera of individuals exposed to infection (antigen negative, antibody positive) of bancroftian filariasis. The results showed that one protein (~37 kDa) reacted with convalescent sera sample (antigen negative, antibody positive individuals) were isolated and characterized for possible application to be used in a diagnostic test for assessing the transmission of filarial infection during post-MDA surveillance.

DOI: 10.22271/veterinary.2025.v10.i3a.2099