evaluation of specific igg antibody detection in diagnosis and post surgical monitoring of cystic echinococcosis

background: cystic echinococcosis (ce) is one of the most predominant parasitic zoonosis infections in the world. due to the high recurrence rate of the disease after surgery, follow up of the patient is necessary. the aim of current research was to evaluate the sensitivity of elisa method for hydatid antibodies detection in confirmed ce cases before and its pattern after surgery. methods: the sensitivity of elisa method was assessed for hydatid antibody detection in 143 pathologically confirmed ce cases. the existence of ce antibody in 69 confirmed ce cases were followed up for 6 to 12 months and up to 48 months in some cases. results: sensitivity of elisa was 90.2%. fifty percent of seronegative cases had lung infection. all of the ce cases who were monitored for antibodies assessment after surgery showed variable levels of decrease in antibody titer. however, this decrease was not constant, regular and occurred at different times after surgery. increasing antibody levels were occurred in few cases after surgery for up to 6 months. discussion : the present study showed that the sensitivity of elisa for antibody detection against purified antigen b was high. furthermore, this test is a useful and valuable index for post monitoring of ce patients after surgical treatment.