Latex based, rapid and easy assay for human leptospirosis in a single test format.
Leptospirosis is an often severe disease which requires prompt treatment. Laboratory testing is required to reach a valid diagnosis. An agglutination assay for the detection of Leptospira-specific antibodies consisting of individually wrapped agglutination cards containing a stable, dried detection reagent is evaluated. The assay is simply performed by suspending the dried reagent with a drop of serum. The result is obtained within 30 s. The sensitivity of the assay varied with the stage of the disease and was 72.3% for samples collected during the first 10 days of the illness and 88.2% for samples collected at a later stage. The specificity was 93.9% and 89.8%, respectively. These characteristics make the test ideal for use in areas where the disease is common and where laboratory support is not routinely available.
Department of Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. H.Smits@kit.nl
H L
HL
Smits
H D
HD
Chee
C K
CK
Eapen
M
M
Kuriakose
S
S
Sugathan
M H
MH
Gasem
C
C
Yersin
D
D
Sakasi
R F
RF
Lai-A-Fat
R A
RA
Hartskeerl
B
B
Liesdek
T H
TH
Abdoel
M G
MG
Goris
G C
GC
Gussenhoven
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods*; D007919:Leptospira / Q000276:immunology*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D007075:Immunoglobulin M