title: Indirect hemagglutination antibodies against Burkholderia pseudomallei in normal blood donors and suspected cases of melioidosis in Malaysia.
abstract: Interpretation of the indirect hemagglutination test (IHA) for melioidosis in endemic areas is difficult because of the presence of antibodies in apparently healthy individuals. Fifty-three out of 200 healthy blood donors in Malaysia showed positive antibody titers (> or = 1 : 40) against Burkholderia pseudomallei. Seven percent had an IHA titer of 1 : 40, 11% had an IHA titer of 1 : 80 while 8.5% had a titer > or = 1 : 160. Out of 258 sera sent for melioidosis serology, 7% of the patients had an IHA titer of 1 : 40, 9% had an IHA titer of 1 : 80 while 20% had an IHA titer of > or = 1 : 160. If a titer of > or = 1 : 80 is taken as cut off point for positivity, 29% of the patients had positive melioidosis serology. Increasing the positivity threshold may jeopardize the sensitivity of the test. A more specific and sensitive test is needed.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norazah
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Rohani
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kamel
mesh_terms: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D016957:Burkholderia pseudomallei / Q000276:immunology*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D008554:Melioidosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial