Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee: Pirogov University.
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Avidity profile of IgG against Toxocara canis in serological testing of adults in Almaty

Namet AM , Davlyatshin TI , Tussipova AA , Khairullin BM
About authors

Scientific Research and Production Center “MVA GROUP” LLP, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan

Correspondence should be addressed: Aiganym A. Tussipova
Zhambyla, 159, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan; moc.liamg@42t.mynagia

About paper

Funding: the study was conducted within the framework of the research and technology program IRN BR28712927 “Scientific and Technological Support of Biological Safety of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Field of Medical Parasitology”.

Acknowledgments: the authors express their gratitude to the medical staff of Fenix Med LLC for their part in biomaterial collection.

Author contribution: Namet AM — developing the concept, data preparation and systematization, project administration, manuscript writing; Davlyatshin TI — developing the concept and methods, data analysis; Tussipova AA — research procedure, manuscript writing; Khairullin BM — developing methods, data preparation and systematization, project administration.

Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Association of Bioethics and Medical Law (protocol No. 20 dated January 8, 2025). The informed consent was obtained before enrollment; we adhered to the principle of voluntary participation and the personal data confidentiality.

Received: 2026-09-10 Accepted: 2026-10-08 Published online: 2026-10-21
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In toxocariasis, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) positive results require further antibody response characterization. The cross-sectional serological study aimed to assess the distribution of the avidity index (AI) of immunoglobulin G (IgG) against Toxocara canis in adults in Almaty and its association with the strength of the positive ELISA results. In April–May 2026 a total of 500 volunteers aged ≥18 were assessed. IgG were detected by the indirect ELISA with the native antigenic fraction 20–22 kDa upon 1 : 5 serum dilution. Avidity was determined upon 1 : 100 dilution and treatment with 6.0 М urea for 10 min at 20–25 °C. AI was calculated as the ratio of the optical density (OD) with the denaturing solution to the OD without it, multiplied by 100%. IgG were detected in 93 subjects out of 500 — 18.6% (95% confidence interval: 15.4–22.2%); all 93 positive samples were tested for avidity. The median AI was 79.2% (interquartile range: 52.7–90.7%). AIs < 40% were found in six samples (6.5%), 80–100% — in 34 (36.6%), >100% — in 12 (12.9%). Median IAs of the weakly positive, positive, and strongly positive groups were 85.4% (80.0–90.0%), 87.3% (66.7–95.8%), and 51.2% (44.9–62.3%), respectively; interquartile ranges are shown in parentheses. There were differences between distributions based on the Kruskal–Wallis test (p < 0.001). The stronger ELISA result was not associated with the successive AI increase. Avidity analysis complements the characteristics of IgG-positive samples, but does not determine the duration or activity of infection. The AI values >100% should be recorded separately and further verified through analysis.

Keywords: ELISA, IgG, antibody avidity, Toxocara canis, toxocariasis, avidity index, serological monitoring, Almaty

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