title: An evaluation of the staphylococcal co-agglutination test for the detection of group A rotavirus in human faeces.
abstract: The group A rotavirus staphylococcal co-agglutination test was evaluated and its sensitivity and specificity compared with an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a commercial latex agglutination test (Rotalex). In addition, the storage stability of the staphylococcal reagents was ascertained. Examination of 136 clarified suspensions of diarrhoeal faeces by the staphylococcal co-agglutination test revealed a high proportion of false positives (26%) and uninterpretable results (34%) due to non-specific agglutination. Non-specific agglutination could be removed effectively by prior absorption of the clarified faecal specimens with unsensitized staphylococci. The staphylococcal co-agglutination test was less sensitive and specific than the in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay but was comparable to the Rotalex slide latex agglutination test. The staphylococcal reagents have a shelf life of at least 29 weeks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.forename: Y E
authors.initials: YE
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Khor
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000382:microbiology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A
chemical_list: D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A