title: Reactivity of the new monoclonal antibody '22' with meningococcal strains isolated from patients and carriers in Greece.
abstract: Previous studies found that the majority of Neisseria meningitidis isolates from either patients or carriers in Greece do not react with the monoclonal antibodies used at present in the whole-cell ELISA (WCE) for determination of serotype and subtype antigens. A new monoclonal antibody designated '22' produced by the National Meningococcal Reference Laboratory in the Czech Republic was assessed in the whole-cell ELISA with 257 non-typable meningococcal strains from both patients (52) and carriers (205). The carrier strains included 34 non-typable isolates from two immigrant populations: ethnic Greeks who have immigrated from Russia since 1989 (19/75) and Kurdish refugees (15/34). Approximately 10% of the meningococcal strains isolated from patients and 11.7% of the carrier strains reacted with the reagent. Although the majority of meningococcal isolates from resident Greeks were not typable with the antibody, 11/19 (57.9%) of the carrier strains from Russian immigrants and 4/15 (20%) of those from the Kurdish refugees reacted with the new reagent.
authors.affiliation: National Meningococcal Reference Laboratory, National School of Public Health, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tzanakaki
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kriz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kremastinou
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Musilek
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Blackwell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D002353:Carrier State; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D012703:Serotyping
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial