HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hsü, H. F. Articles by Ameel, D. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hsü, H. F. Articles by Ameel, D. J.

Intradermal Reactions to Schistosoma Japonicum and S. Mansoni Antigens in Schistosome Dermatitis Cases¹

Forty-nine recent or old cases of schistosome dermatitis which occurred mainly in the vicinity of Douglas Lake, Michigan, were tested intradermally with the worm antigen of S. japonicum and cercarial antigen of S. mansoni. At the same time the antigens were tested intradermally on 49 cases that had had no history of schistosome dermatitis; and the results were negative.

It is concluded that schistosome dermatitis cases, caused by the penetration of the cercariae of avian schistosomes, seldom give positive intradermal reactions to the antigens made from the human schistosomes, S. japonicum or S. mansoni, due probably to a limited antibody production. A differential diagnosis between schistosome dermatitis and seabather's eruption of non-schistosome origin can not be made adequately by an intradermal test with human schistosome antigen. The results of the present study also indicate that the use of intradermal antigens for diagnosis of human schistosomiasis is valid even in the areas where the people may well have been exposed to avian schistosome cercariae.

¹ The present studies were made at the University of Michigan Biological Station, Cheboygan, Michigan, and were supported by a research grant, E.-939, P.T.M.(1), National Microbiological Institute, the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service.