Serological diagnosis of infection by Shigella dysenteriae-1 in patients with bacillary dysentery.
A total of 192 samples of serum from 113 Sri Lankan patients with clinical dysentery was examined for antibodies of the IgM class to the lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) of Shigella dysenteriae-1 and Escherichia coli O157:H7. By means of ELISA and immunoblotting, 59 patients were found to have serum antibodies to the LPS of S. dysenteriae-1 only. Four samples from one patient were found to contain serum antibodies to the LPSs of both S. dysenteriae-1 and E. coli O157:H7. Antibodies to the LPS of S. dysenteriae-1 were also detected in 16 samples from 25 children, from Sri Lanka, with no previous history of dysentery; one of these children also had antibodies to the LPS of E. coli O157:H7. Analysis of 16 samples from apparently healthy children in the U.K. showed that only one serum contained antibodies to the LPS of S. dysenteriae-1. This patient had a history of recent travel to Pakistan. The isolation of S. dysenteriae-1 remains the preferred test for the diagnosis of bacillary dysentery. The use of serology as a means of providing evidence of infection with S. dysenteriae-1, however may prove to be a useful adjunct to cultural techniques but needs to be validated in an area where this organism is endemic.
de Silva
D G
DG
Department of Child Health, King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, U.K.
Candy
D C
DC
Mendis
L N
LN
Chart
H
H
Rowe
B
B
D002675:Child, Preschool; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000276:immunology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D012762:Shigella dysenteriae / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013188:Sri Lanka
D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides