title: Evaluation of a standardized F1 capsular antigen capture ELISA test kit for the rapid diagnosis of plague.
abstract: Rapid detection of soluble F1 capsular antigen in serum, bubo fluid or urine of patients proved to be a valuable tool in the presumptive diagnosis of plague. We evaluated a F1 capsular antigen capture ELISA resembling a commercially available test kit. The minimal detectable concentration was 4 ng/ml. The specificity was 100% when investigating 47 sera from healthy Malagasy subjects and 98.4% when 365 sera from German blood donors were studied. Sensitivity was determined on sera (n=11) and buboes (n=18) from bacteriologically confirmed Malagasy plague patients. Sensitivity was 90.1% for serum and 100% for buboes. A standardized F1 capsular antigen capture ELISA test kit might be well suited for the early detection of plague particularly in non-endemic areas where clinical microbiological laboratories have only limited access to alternative techniques for rapid identification of Yersinia pestis.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Federal Armed Forces Medical Academy, Neuherbergstr. 11, 80937 Munich, Germany. wolfsplettstoesser@bundeswehr.org
authors.forename: Wolf D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Splettstoesser
authors.forename: Lila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rahalison
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grunow
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chanteau
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D016667:Bacterial Capsules / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D010930:Plague / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; C086725:caf1 protein, Yersinia pestis