title: Detection of LipL32-specific IgM by ELISA in sera of patients with a clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis.
abstract: Successful treatment of leptospirosis is heavily dependent on early diagnosis and prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy. An ELISA test to detect specific IgM antibodies against LipL32 for early diagnosis of leptospirosis is described and evaluated here. One thousand one hundred and eighty sera from clinically suspected leptospirosis cases were enrolled together with 109 healthy volunteers selected from an endemic area between October 2007 and January 2010. Patients were categorized based on their clinical signs and symptoms. Sera were screened for leptospiral antibodies by the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) using a panel of locally circulating serovars followed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on recombinant LipL32 from Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis strain N2. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA test were determined to establish its diagnostic efficiency. The cut-off value was determined to be 0·205. Overall sensitivity and specificity compared to the MAT were found to be 96·4 and 90·4%, respectively. The LipL32-specific IgM ELISA had good sensitivity and acceptable specificity and may be a candidate for the early serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis.
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India.
authors.forename: Kumaresan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vedhagiri
authors.forename: Sridhar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Velineni
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Timoney
authors.forename: Santhanam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shanmughapriya
authors.forename: Paluru
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vijayachari
authors.forename: Ramasamy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Narayanan
authors.forename: Kalimuthusamy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Natarajaseenivasan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007921:Leptospira interrogans / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; C406589:LipL32 protein, Leptospira; D008074:Lipoproteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins