ELISA versus conventional methods of diagnosing endemic brucellosis.
The diagnostic value of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was evaluated when blood specimens of 92 patients suspected of brucellosis underwent the ELISA (IgM and IgG), standard tube agglutination (SAT), and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) tests and blood cultures; 38 sera from non-brucellosis patients and 34 sera from blood donors were also subjected to ELISA, SAT, and 2-ME tests. SAT was able to pinpoint only 23 (25%), whereas ELISA confirmed the etiology in 56 (60.9%; P < 0.001) patients with brucellosis, including 31 culture-confirmed cases. The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 100% and 71.31%, respectively. Because they were confirmed by ELISA, the diagnosis could never be excluded with SAT in 33 cases. ELISA has been found to be more sensitive in acute (28% higher sensitivity; P < 0.02) and chronic (55% higher sensitivity; P < 0.01) cases. For accurate diagnosis in suspected brucellosis cases detection, we recommend both ELISA IgM and IgG tests. ELISA IgG and 2-ME tests seem to be promising tools in judging prognosis.
Mantur
Basappa
B
Department of Microbiology, Belgaum Institute of Medical Sciences, Belgaum, Karnataka, India. drbgmantur@rediffmail.com
Parande
Aisha
A
Amarnath
Satish
S
Patil
Giridhar
G
Walvekar
Ravindra
R
Desai
Arun
A
Parande
Mahantesh
M
Shinde
Rupali
R
Chandrashekar
Masiyappa
M
Patil
Satish
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002002:Brucella / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008623:Mercaptoethanol; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008623:Mercaptoethanol