Validation of a latex agglutination test for the detection of Trichinella infections in pigs

An antigen detection kit (Trichin-L), based on latex agglutination and developed by the Bio-Rad company was validated at five European laboratories. The validation parameters included specificity, sensitivity, robustness and reproducibility. Specificity was evaluated by testing parasite antigens from five non-Trichinella parasites in addition to the Trichinella genus. To evaluate sensitivity, 10 pork samples spiked with 1, 3, 6 or 15 Trichinella larvae were tested in each laboratory. To evaluate the robustness of the test, the solubilized antigens were maintained at room temperature and tested at different times. Reproducibility was assessed in each laboratory using 40, 100 g minced pork samples, each spiked with Trichinella spiralis. The use of larval homogenates obtained from the Trichin-L kit as a template for parasite identification at the species level by a multiplex PCR, was also evaluated. The results showed a high specificity and sensitivity where solubilized antigens maintained their stability and reactivity for up to three days. Reproducibility was high, as similar results were obtained in the five laboratories. The larval homogenates obtained using the Trichin-L kit were successfully used in multiplex PCRs to identify Trichinella species.