title: Evaluation of a safranin-O-stained antigen microagglutination test for francisella tularensis antibodies.
abstract: A microagglutination test for Francisella tularensis, with 0.025-ml amounts of diluted sera and 0.025-ml amounts of safranin-O-stained antigen in U-bottom microtitration plates, was compared with a tube agglutination test by using 137 sera. There was 86.3% agreement (+/- 1 dilution variation) between the microagglutination results and the tube agglutination results for sera with tube agglutination titers of greater than or equal to 20. There was 100% agreement (+/- 1 dilution variation) for sera with titers of less than 20. The advantages of the microagglutination test are: (i) it requires fewer man hours to perform; (ii) it requires only one-twentieth of the amount of antigen; and (iii) it is easier to read.
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D005604:Francisella tularensis / Q000276:immunology*; D010619:Phenazines; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D010619:Phenazines; C009195:safranine T