Abstract: AIM:To quest for a simple and convenient assay for the diagnosis of
schistosomiasis. METHODS: Three monoclonal antibodies against different epitopes of antigens of
S. japonicum were used to develop a dot immunogold filtration assay for detection of
schistosomal antigen antibody reaction on the membrane during the filtration process.The results
could be read with the naked eye within a few minutes. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the SEA assay
was 16 ng/ml.In 69 serum samples from patients with chronic schistosomiasis, the positive rate and specificity of this assay were 60.8% and 95.2% , respectively. Dot-ELISA was used in detecting 137 serum samples from patients with chronic schistosomiasis, the positive rate and specificity were 54.7%and 94.6%, respectively. When sandwich-ELISA was used in detecting 118 serum samples from patients with chronic schistosomiasis, the positive rate and specificity were 61.9% and 95.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity and specificity of DIFA were similar to those of ELISA, but DIFA required less time and no special equipment.

Key words: Dot immunogold filtration assay, dot-ELISA, sandwich-ELISA, schistosomiasis