Specimen:

Serum

Collection Medium:

Minimum:

Adult preferred minimum:  1 mL serum
Adult absolute minimum:  0.5 mL serum
Pediatric minimum:   0.15 mL serum

Rejection Criteria:

Severely lipemic or contaminated specimens.

Delivery Instructions:

Submit specimen to laboratory as soon as possible after collection.

Specimen
Instructions:

Acute and convalescent specimens must be labeled as such; parallel 
testing is preferred and convalescent specimens must be received within 
30 days from receipt of acute specimens.  Please mark specimens plainly 
as "acute" or "convalescent."

Reference Range:

0.8 IV or less: Negative - No significant level of Echinococcus IgG 
antibody detected.

0.9-1.1 IV: Equivocal - Questionable presence of Echinococcus IgG 
antibody detected.  Repeat testing in 10-14 days may be helpful.

1.2 IV or greater: Positive - Presence of IgG antibody to Echinococcus 
detected, suggestive of current or past infection.

Interpretive Data:

Patients with collagen vascular diseases, hepatic cirrhosis, 
schistosomiasis, and other parasitic infections can produce 
false-positive results. There is a strong cross-reaction between 
echinococcosis and cysticercosis positive sera.

Seroconversion between acute and convalescent sera is considered strong 
evidence of recent infection.  The best evidence for infection is a 
significant change on two appropriately timed specimens where both 
tests are done in the same laboratory at the same time.

Methodology:

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

CPT Code:

86682