The use of protein A-containing staphylococci sensitized with anti-meningococcal antibodies for grouping Neisseria meningitidis and demonstration of meningococcal antigen in cerebrospinal fluid.
The co-agglutination technique, utilizing antibody coated protein A-containing staphylococci, was successfully adapted to grouping N. meningitidis strains. It was found to give more clear-cut results than the standard slide test, especially in the case of strains isolated from throat specimens. The co-agglutination technique has also other advantages over the standard slide test in the grouping of meningococci: minor influence by auto-agglutination, higher specificity, easy performance and low consumption of specific antisera. Preliminary results also showed that the co-agglutination technique could be applied for the rapid detection of meningococcal antigen in cerebrospinal fluid.
D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006801:Humans; D007106:Immune Sera; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000382:microbiology; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D011817:Rabbits / Q000276:immunology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000276:immunology*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007106:Immune Sera