Development and Laboratory Evaluation of a Simple, Field-Applicable Coproantigen Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Taeniasis in Northern Peru

Coproantigen detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (coAg ELISA) is a vital tool for detecting and treating cases of Taenia solium taeniasis. However, the assay’s procedures require costly materials and sophisticated equipment, which are typically inaccessible in rural settings where the disease is endemic. To overcome these barriers, we developed and evaluated a field-applicable coAg ELISA. The field coAg ELISA was developed and evaluated across four phases using known positive and negative stool samples collected from northern Peru. Phase I focused on field assay development, phase II on a small-scale performance evaluation, phase III on a large-scale evaluation, and phase IV on the use and reliability of a colorimetric scale card. All samples were processed using the field and standard assay procedures and compared using signal-to-noise ratios, correlation tests, performance characteristics, and agreement statistics where appropriate. The field coAg ELISA using reagents stored at 220°C and commercially available water and milk powder, and relying on spontaneous separation of the supernatant, had performance comparable to the standard assay. The field coAg ELISA was strongly correlated with the standard in both the small- and large-scale laboratory evaluation (r = 0.99 and r = 0.98, respectively). Finally, the field assay had an almost perfect agreement between independent readers (kappa = 0.975) and between each reader and the spectrophotometer. The field coAg ELISA demonstrated performance comparable to the standard, providing a low-cost alternative to the standard assay for identifying cases of intestinal taeniasis in a low-resource setting.