title: Diagnosis of acute Q fever with emphasis on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and nested polymerase chain reaction regarding the time of serum collection.
abstract: A commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Virion/Serion [Wuerzburg, Germany]), an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) (BIOS/Focus [Cypress, CA]), and a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were explored for diagnosis of acute Q fever in reference to time of serum collection. Serum samples of 22 patients with acute Q fever collected around the fifth day of illness were included. A sensitivity of 30% by ELISA and 80% by IFAT (P = 0.1) was found for the first 5 days of illness and 92% by ELISA and 83% by IFAT during the sixth and eleventh day. PCR revealed a positive result in 8 cases (36%) with 6 cases deriving from the first 5 days of illness. We conclude that ELISA aids especially in the diagnosis of Q fever after 5 days of illness. The benefit of PCR as an additional tool to ELISA was especially evident in the early days of serum sampling.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Microbiology, University Hospital, Erlanger Allee 101, Jena, Germany. katharina.boden@med.uni-jena.de
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wagner-Wiening
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seidel
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baier
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Bischof
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Straube
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kimmig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D001483:Base Sequence; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011778:Q Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides