evaluation of !fa, iha and bla tests in the serological diagnosis of amebic liver abscess

as there was not any previous comprehensive study on the serological tests for hepatic amebiasis in iran, the indirect hemagglutination (iha), indirect fluorescent antibody (if a), and biocolored latex agglutination (bla) tests were evaluated in the serodiagnosis of amebic liver abscess(ala). for this purpose a total of 165 serum samples 18 of which were obtained from patients known to have ala, were examined for entamoeba histolytica antibodies. e. histolytica antigen used for ifa technique was prepared in the intestinal protozoa laboratory, protozoology unit, school of public health, tehran university of medical sciences. the results of the survey showed that the iha and bla were somewhat more sensitive than ifa in the serodiagnosis of ala. the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of these tests were compared