The specificity of the human IgE response to Necator americanus

Human IgE responses to helminth infections have been described as both problematic and beneficial, in that type I hypersensitivity to parasite infections can reputedly cause pathology and/or parasite expulsion, (Pritchard Quinnell & Walsh 1995). In the present communication, we can report that the IgE response to helminth infections may be beneficial in a diagnostic sense, in that antibodies of this isotype showed minimal cross-reactivity against antigens from the parasites tested. This information may be of benefit to workers attempting to establish ELISA assays for the specific diagnosis of zoonotic hookworm infections, for example, Ancylostoma caninum (Croese 1988), particularly in regions where human hookworm infection is endemic.