Serological titres to Leptospira fainei serovar hurstbridge in human sera in Australia.
A set of 723 diagnostic sera from human patients, submitted for the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) for antibodies to a group of 6 leptospiral serovars, was also tested by MAT for antibodies to the recently-discovered Leptospira fainei serovar hurstbridge. MAT titres of > or = 128 to serovar hurstbridge were detected in 13.4% of these sera, and titres of > or = 512 in 7.2%. In contrast, none of 62 sera obtained from a control population of laboratory staff gave titres of > or = 128. The difference between the number of titres of > or = 128 given by the two groups of sera was highly significant (P < 0.01). The titres observed may have been due to cross-reactions with other leptospiral serovars, but this could not be demonstrated. An alternative explanation is that serovar hurstbridge is present in the human population.
Chappel
R J
RJ
Agriculture Victoria, Victorian Institute of Animal Science, Attwood, Australia.
Khalik
D A
DA
Adler
B
B
Bulach
D M
DM
Faine
S
S
Perolat
P
P
Vallance
V
V
D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D001315:Australia; D006801:Humans; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission*; D012698:Serologic Tests
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial