Sample records for elisa test based

  1. 9 CFR 145.14 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or the rapid serum test for all poultry; and the stained antigen, rapid whole... test or enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or blood from birds that react on the stained... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test,3 a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test, or a...

  2. 9 CFR 145.14 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or the rapid serum test for all poultry; and the stained antigen, rapid whole... test or enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or blood from birds that react on the stained... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test,3 a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test, or a...

  3. 9 CFR 145.14 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or the rapid serum test for all poultry; and the stained antigen, rapid whole... test or enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or blood from birds that react on the stained... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test,3 a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based test, or a...

  4. Diagnostic Accuracy of Recombinant Immunoglobulin-like Protein A-Based IgM ELISA for the Early Diagnosis of Leptospirosis in the Philippines.

    PubMed

    Kitashoji, Emi; Koizumi, Nobuo; Lacuesta, Talitha Lea V; Usuda, Daisuke; Ribo, Maricel R; Tria, Edith S; Go, Winston S; Kojiro, Maiko; Parry, Christopher M; Dimaano, Efren M; Villarama, Jose B; Ohnishi, Makoto; Suzuki, Motoi; Ariyoshi, Koya

    2015-01-01

    Leptospirosis is an important but largely under-recognized public health problem in the tropics. Establishment of highly sensitive and specific laboratory diagnosis is essential to reveal the magnitude of problem and to improve treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a recombinant LigA protein based IgM ELISA during outbreaks in the clinical-setting of a highly endemic country. A prospective study was conducted from October 2011 to September 2013 at a national referral hospital for infectious diseases in Manila, Philippines. Patients who were hospitalized with clinically suspected leptospirosis were enrolled. Plasma and urine were collected on admission and/or at discharge and tested using the LigA-IgM ELISA and a whole cell-based IgM ELISA. Sensitivity and specificity of these tests were evaluated with cases diagnosed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), culture and LAMP as the composite reference standard and blood bank donors as healthy controls: the mean+3 standard deviation optical density value of healthy controls was used as the cut-off limit (0.062 for the LigA-IgM ELISA and 0.691 for the whole cell-based IgM ELISA). Of 304 patients enrolled in the study, 270 (89.1%) were male and the median age was 30.5 years; 167 (54.9%) were laboratory confirmed. The sensitivity and ROC curve AUC for the LigA-IgM ELISA was significantly greater than the whole cell-based IgM ELISA (69.5% vs. 54.3%, p<0.01; 0.90 vs. 0.82, p<0.01) on admission, but not at discharge. The specificity of LigA-IgM ELISA and whole cell-based IgM ELISA were not significantly different (98% vs. 97%). Among 158 MAT negative patients, 53 and 28 were positive by LigA- and whole cell-based IgM ELISA, respectively; if the laboratory confirmation was re-defined by LigA-IgM ELISA and LAMP, the clinical findings were more characteristic of leptospirosis than the diagnosis based on MAT/culture/LAMP. The newly developed LigA-IgM ELISA is more sensitive than the whole cell-based IgM based ELISA. Although the final diagnosis must be validated by more specific tests, LigA-IgM ELISA could be a useful diagnostic test in a real clinical-setting, where diagnosis is needed in the early phase of infection.

  5. Diagnostic Accuracy of Recombinant Immunoglobulin-like Protein A-Based IgM ELISA for the Early Diagnosis of Leptospirosis in the Philippines

    PubMed Central

    Kitashoji, Emi; Koizumi, Nobuo; Lacuesta, Talitha Lea V.; Usuda, Daisuke; Ribo, Maricel R.; Tria, Edith S.; Go, Winston S.; Kojiro, Maiko; Parry, Christopher M.; Dimaano, Efren M.; Villarama, Jose B.; Ohnishi, Makoto; Suzuki, Motoi; Ariyoshi, Koya

    2015-01-01

    Background Leptospirosis is an important but largely under-recognized public health problem in the tropics. Establishment of highly sensitive and specific laboratory diagnosis is essential to reveal the magnitude of problem and to improve treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a recombinant LigA protein based IgM ELISA during outbreaks in the clinical-setting of a highly endemic country. Methodology/Principal Findings A prospective study was conducted from October 2011 to September 2013 at a national referral hospital for infectious diseases in Manila, Philippines. Patients who were hospitalized with clinically suspected leptospirosis were enrolled. Plasma and urine were collected on admission and/or at discharge and tested using the LigA-IgM ELISA and a whole cell-based IgM ELISA. Sensitivity and specificity of these tests were evaluated with cases diagnosed by microscopic agglutination test (MAT), culture and LAMP as the composite reference standard and blood bank donors as healthy controls: the mean+3 standard deviation optical density value of healthy controls was used as the cut-off limit (0.062 for the LigA-IgM ELISA and 0.691 for the whole cell-based IgM ELISA). Of 304 patients enrolled in the study, 270 (89.1%) were male and the median age was 30.5 years; 167 (54.9%) were laboratory confirmed. The sensitivity and ROC curve AUC for the LigA-IgM ELISA was significantly greater than the whole cell-based IgM ELISA (69.5% vs. 54.3%, p<0.01; 0.90 vs. 0.82, p<0.01) on admission, but not at discharge. The specificity of LigA-IgM ELISA and whole cell-based IgM ELISA were not significantly different (98% vs. 97%). Among 158 MAT negative patients, 53 and 28 were positive by LigA- and whole cell-based IgM ELISA, respectively; if the laboratory confirmation was re-defined by LigA-IgM ELISA and LAMP, the clinical findings were more characteristic of leptospirosis than the diagnosis based on MAT/culture/LAMP. Conclusions/Significance The newly developed LigA-IgM ELISA is more sensitive than the whole cell-based IgM based ELISA. Although the final diagnosis must be validated by more specific tests, LigA-IgM ELISA could be a useful diagnostic test in a real clinical-setting, where diagnosis is needed in the early phase of infection. PMID:26110604

  6. 9 CFR 149.6 - Slaughter facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... result based on an ELISA method and is confirmed positive by further testing using the digestion method... decertified. (C) If a test sample yields a positive test result based on an ELISA method, but is not confirmed...

  7. 9 CFR 149.6 - Slaughter facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... result based on an ELISA method and is confirmed positive by further testing using the digestion method... decertified. (C) If a test sample yields a positive test result based on an ELISA method, but is not confirmed...

  8. 9 CFR 149.6 - Slaughter facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... result based on an ELISA method and is confirmed positive by further testing using the digestion method... decertified. (C) If a test sample yields a positive test result based on an ELISA method, but is not confirmed...

  9. 9 CFR 149.6 - Slaughter facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... result based on an ELISA method and is confirmed positive by further testing using the digestion method... decertified. (C) If a test sample yields a positive test result based on an ELISA method, but is not confirmed...

  10. 9 CFR 149.6 - Slaughter facilities.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... result based on an ELISA method and is confirmed positive by further testing using the digestion method... decertified. (C) If a test sample yields a positive test result based on an ELISA method, but is not confirmed...

  11. G-protein based ELISA as a potency test for rabies vaccines.

    PubMed

    Chabaud-Riou, Martine; Moreno, Nadège; Guinchard, Fabien; Nicolai, Marie Claire; Niogret-Siohan, Elisabeth; Sève, Nicolas; Manin, Catherine; Guinet-Morlot, Françoise; Riou, Patrice

    2017-03-01

    The NIH test is currently used to assess the potency of rabies vaccine, a key criterion for vaccine release. This test is based on mice immunization followed by intracerebral viral challenge. As part of global efforts to reduce animal experimentation and in the framework of the development of Sanofi Pasteur next generation, highly-purified vaccine, produced without any material of human or animal origin, we developed an ELISA as an alternative to the NIH test. This ELISA is based on monoclonal antibodies recognizing specifically the native form of the viral G-protein, the major antigen that induces neutralizing antibody response to rabies virus. We show here that our ELISA is able to distinguish between potent and different types of sub-potent vaccine lots. Satisfactory agreement was observed between the ELISA and the NIH test in the determination of the vaccine titer and their capacity to discern conform from non-conform batches. Our ELISA meets the criteria for a stability-indicating assay and has been successfully used to develop the new generation of rabies vaccine candidates. After an EPAA international pre-collaborative study, this ELISA was selected as the assay of choice for the EDQM collaborative study aimed at replacing the rabies vaccine NIH in vivo potency test. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. [Use of new immunoglobulin isotype-specific ELISA-systems to detect Salmonella infections in pigs].

    PubMed

    Ehlers, Joachim; Alt, Michael; Trepnau, Daniela; Lehmann, Jörg

    2006-01-01

    In Germany, the program for controlling salmonella infections in pigs is based on tests detecting salmonella-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced antibodies in meat-juice or blood. These conventional tests which are based on the technology of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) detect exclusively or mainly immunoglobulin(lg)G antibodies. Meanwhile, novel ELISA systems (WCE-ELISA, 3-Isotype-Screening-ELISA) have been developed, which additionally detect the antibody classes IgM and IgA.This fact enables the registration of fresh salmonella infections (starting with day 5 p.i.) and thus, the distinction between early and older infections. The results show that animals with early salmonella infections appear significantly more often in herds with a high than with a low prevalence. With the newly developed tests this group of animals can be detected much more efficiently and precisely than with the tests used so far. Due to their clearly improved sensitivity the application of the WCE-ELISA and the 3-Isotype-Screening-ELISA in terms of the QS-Salmonella-Monitoring program can therefore significantly improve the selection of farms with potential salmonella excretors. Additionally, the WCE-ELISA can be applied very suitable for the examination of individual animals.

  13. Comparison of the Hemagglutination Inhibition Test and IgG ELISA in Categorizing Primary and Secondary Dengue Infections Based on the Plaque Reduction Neutralization Test.

    PubMed

    Lukman, Nurhayati; Salim, Gustiani; Kosasih, Herman; Susanto, Nugroho Harry; Parwati, Ida; Fitri, Silvita; Alisjahbana, Bachti; Widjaja, Susana; Williams, Maya

    2016-01-01

    Secondary dengue infection by heterotypic serotypes is associated with severe manifestations of disease, that is, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended criteria based on the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test to distinguish between primary and secondary dengue infections. Since the HI test has practical limitations and disadvantages, we evaluated the accuracy of WHO HI criteria and compared it with criteria based on an IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) as the gold standard. Both WHO HI criteria and IgG ELISA criteria performed strongly (16/16) in determining primary infection. However, to determine secondary infection, the IgG ELISA criteria performed better (72/73) compared to the WHO HI criteria (23/73).

  14. Comparison of a commercial bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein ELISA test and a pregnancy-associated glycoprotein radiomimmunoassay test for early pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle.

    PubMed

    Karen, Aly; Sousa, Noelita Melo De; Beckers, Jean-François; Bajcsy, Árpád Csaba; Tibold, János; Mádl, István; Szenci, Ottó

    2015-08-01

    The present study aimed to compare the accuracy of a commercial PAG-ELISA test (Bovine Preg Test 29) and bovine pregnancy-associated glycoprotein radioimmunoassay (PAG-RIA) for diagnosing pregnancy at Day 28 after insemination in dairy cows. Transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) was performed in 100 Holstein-Friesian cows at Day 28 after artificial insemination (AI; Day 0) to diagnose pregnancy. After TRUS examination, blood sample was collected from the coccygeal vessels of each cow to measure the concentrations of bPAGs by PAG-RIA test and Bovine Preg Test 29. Milk samples were collected at Days 0, 21 and 28 for measurement of progesterone (P4) by ELISA test. The cows were re-examined by TRUS at Day 42 to confirm the pregnancy diagnoses. The actual gold standard was based on TRUS outcomes at Day 28 that agreed with the outcomes of PAG-RIA test or PAG-ELISA test. If the outcomes of TRUS at Day 28 and PAG-RIA test and PAG-ELISA test did not agree, the gold standard was based on the outcome of TRUS at Day 42. Out of 100 inseminated cows, 41 were confirmed pregnant at Day 28 after AI. Based on the actual gold standard, the sensitivity of TRUS, PAG-ELISA and PAG-RIA tests for diagnosing pregnant cows at Day 28 were 92.7%, 90.2% and 100%, while the specificity of the three tests for diagnosing non-pregnant cows were 91.5%, 98.3% and 94.4%, respectively. The overall accuracy of the three tests were 92%, 95% and 97%, respectively. The degree of agreement (Kappa±S.E.) between PAG-RIA and PAG-ELISA test was 0.90 ±0.04. The degrees of agreement between PAG-RIA and PAG-ELISA and TRUS at Day 28 were 0.80±0.05 and 0.76±0.06, respectively. In conclusion, the commercial PAG-ELISA test is a highly accurate method for diagnosing early pregnancy in dairy cows on Day 28 after AI and may be used as an alternative method to the TRUS and the PAG-RIA test. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Development and validation of an epitope-blocking ELISA using an anti-haemagglutinin monoclonal antibody for specific detection of antibodies in sheep and goat sera directed against peste des petits ruminants virus.

    PubMed

    Bodjo, Sanne Charles; Baziki, Jean-de-Dieu; Nwankpa, Nick; Chitsungo, Ethel; Koffi, Yao Mathurin; Couacy-Hymann, Emmanuel; Diop, Mariame; Gizaw, Daniel; Tajelser, Idris Badri Adam; Lelenta, Mamadou; Diallo, Adama; Tounkara, Karim

    2018-07-01

    Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a contagious and economically important disease affecting production of small ruminants (i.e., sheep and goats). Taking into consideration the lessons learnt from the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP), PPR is now targeted by the international veterinary community as the next animal disease to be eradicated. To support the African continental programme for the control of PPR, the Pan African Veterinary Vaccine Centre of the African Union (AU-PANVAC) is developing diagnostics tools. Here, we describe the development of a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) that allows testing of a large number of samples for specific detection of antibodies directed against PPR virus in sheep and goat sera. The PPR bELISA uses an anti-haemagglutinin (H) monoclonal antibody (MAb) as a competitor antibody, and tests results are interpreted using the percentage of inhibition (PI) of MAb binding generated by the serum sample. PI values below or equal to 18% (PI ≤ 18%) are negative, PI values greater than or equal to 25% (PI ≥ 25%) are positive, and PI values greater than 18% and below 25% are doubtful. The diagnostic specificity (DSp) and diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) were found to be 100% and 93.74%, respectively. The H-based PPR-bELISA showed good correlation with the virus neutralization test (VNT), the gold standard test, with a kappa value of 0.947. The H-based PPR-bELISA is more specific than the commercial kit ID Screen® PPR Competition (N-based PPR-cELISA) from IDvet (France), but the commercial kit is slightly more sensitive than the H-based PPR-bELISA. The validation process also indicated good repeatability and reproducibility of the H-based PPR-bELISA, making this new test a suitable tool for the surveillance and sero-monitoring of the vaccination campaign.

  16. [Development of a SPA-ELISA method for detecting anti-coronavirus IgG antibodies in serum samples from fulvous fruit bats].

    PubMed

    Zhou, Jie; Liao, Yu-xue; Chen, Zhong; Li, Yu-chun; Gao, Lu-Lu; Chen, Yi-xiong; Cai, Lian-gong; Chen, Qing; Yu, Shou-yi

    2008-05-01

    To develop an simple and sensitive method for detecting anti-coronavirus IgG antibodies in bat sera based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A commercial ELISA kit for detecting SARS-CoV antibody was modified for detecting coronavirus antibodies in bat serum samples. The second antibody in the kit was replaced with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated protein-A (HRP-SPA) based on the characteristics of binding between Staphylococcus aureus protein A (SPA) and mammal IgG Fc fragment. The sera of 55 fulvous fruit bats (Rousettus dasymallus) were tested using the SPA-ELISA. The test results of the positive and negative controls in the kit and the serum samples from convalescent ;patient were consistent with expectation. Coronavirus antibody was detected in 2 out of the 55 bat serum samples. Serum neutralization test confirmed the validity of the SPA-ELISA method. This SPA-ELISA method is applicable for detecting coronavirus antibody in bat sera.

  17. Genital Herpes

    MedlinePlus

    ... serology is performed for their patients . 11 Several ELISA-based serologic tests are FDA approved and available ... The most commonly used test, HerpeSelect HSV-2 Elisa might be falsely positive at low index values ( ...

  18. Development and Evaluation of Recombinant Nucleocapsid Protein Based Diagnostic ELISA for Detection of Nipah Virus Infection in Pigs.

    PubMed

    Kulkarni, Diwakar D; Venkatesh, Govindarajalu; Tosh, Chakradhar; Patel, Priyanka; Mashoria, Anita; Gupta, Vandana; Gupta, Sourabh; D, Senthilkumar

    2016-01-01

    The recombinant viral protein-based indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a cost-effective, safe, specific, and rapid tool to diagnose the viral infection. Nipah virus nucleocapsid (NiV-N) protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by histidine tag-based affinity chromatography. The N protein was selected based on its immuno dominance and conservation among different NiV strains. An indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for swine sera was optimized using the recombinant NiV-N protein as an antigen along with negative and positive controls. The background reading was blocked using skim milk powder and chicken serum. A total number of 1709 swine serum samples from various states of India were tested with indirect ELISA and Western blot. The test was considered positive only when its total reactivity reading was higher than 0.2 cut-off value and the ratio of the total reactivity to the background reading was more than 2.0. Since specificity is high for Western blotting it was used as standard test for comparison of results of indirect ELISA. Sensitivity and specificity of indirect ELISA was 100% and 98.7%, respectively, in comparison with Western blotting. Recombinant N protein-based ELISA can be used in screening large number of serum samples for epidemiological investigations in developing countries where high containment laboratories are not available to handle this zoonotic virus.

  19. 77 FR 6971 - Establishment of User Fees for Filovirus Testing of Nonhuman Primate Liver Samples

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-10

    ... (ELISA) or other appropriate methodology. Each specimen will be held for six months. After six months.../CDC's analysis of costs to the Government is based on the current methodology (ELISA) used to test NHP... different methodology or changes in the availability of ELISA reagents will affect the amount of the user...

  20. Performance of commercially available serological diagnostic tests to detect Leishmania infantum infection on experimentally infected dogs.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Cortés, Alhelí; Ojeda, Ana; Todolí, Felicitat; Alberola, Jordi

    2013-01-31

    Leishmania infantum (syn. Leishmania chagasi) is the etiological agent of a widespread serious zoonotic disease that affects both humans and dogs. Prevalence and incidence of the canine infection are important parameters to determine the risk and the ways to control this reemergent zoonosis. Unfortunately, there is not a gold standard test for Leishmania infection. Our aim was to assess the operative validity of commercial tests used to detect antibodies to Leishmania in serum samples from experimental infections. Three ELISA tests (LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test, INGEZIM(®) LEISHMANIA, and INGEZIM(®) LEISHMANIA VET), three immunochromatographic tests (INGEZIM(®) LEISHMACROM, SNAP(®) Leishmania, and WITNESS(®) Leishmania), and one IFAT were evaluated. LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA test achieved the highest sensitivity and accuracy (both 0.98). Specificity was 1 for all tests except for IFAT. All tests but IFAT obtained a positive predictive value of 1, while the maximum negative predictive value was achieved by LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test (0.93). The best positive likelihood ratio was obtained by INGEZIM(®) LEISHMANIA VET (30.26), while the best negative likelihood ratio was obtained by LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test (0.02). The highest diagnostic odds ratio was achieved by LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test (729.00). The largest area under the ROC curve was obtained by LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test (0.981). Quantitative ELISA based tests performmed better than qualitative tests ("Rapid Tests"), and the test best suited to detect Leishmania in infected dogs and to provide clinically useful information was LEISCAN(®) Leishmania ELISA Test. This and other results point also to the need of revising the status of IFAT as a gold standard for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Applicability of ELISA-based Determination of Pesticides for Groundwater Quality Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsuchihara, Takeo; Yoshimoto, Shuhei; Ishida, Satoshi; Imaizumi, Masayuki

    The principals and procedures of ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay)-based determination of pesticides (Fenitrothion) in environmental samples were reviewed, and the applicability of the ELISA method for groundwater quality monitoring were validated through the experimental tracer tests in soil columns and the field test in Okinoerabu Island. The test results showed that the ELISA method could be useful not only for screening but also for quantitative analysis of pesticides. In the experimental tracer tests in soil columns, the retardation of pesticides leaching compared with conservative tracers were observed. In the field test, the contamination of the pesticide was detected in groundwater samples in Okinoerabu Island, even though the targeted pesticide was considered to be applied to the upland field 4 months ago. In order to investigate the transport and fate of pesticides in groundwater taking into account retardation from the field to groundwater table and the residue in groundwater, continuous observations of pesticides in groundwater are in a strong need, and the ELISA method is applicable to the long-term quality groundwater monitoring.

  2. [Comparison of conventional and non-conventional serological tests for the diagnosis of imported Chagas disease in Spain].

    PubMed

    Flores-Chávez, María; Cruz, Israel; Rodríguez, Mercedes; Nieto, Javier; Franco, Elena; Gárate, Teresa; Cañavate, Carmen

    2010-05-01

    Trypanosoma cruzi infection is a major imported parasitic disease in Spain, because of the increase of immigrants from endemic areas. Since the laboratory diagnosis during the chronic phase is based on detection of anti-T. cruzi IgG antibodies, our aims were to compare 10 tests for determining anti-T. cruzi antibodies, to assess their cross-reactivity with related diseases, and to evaluate the rk39-ELISA and IFAT-Leishmania tests as tools for the differential diagnosis of leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum. A total of 223 sera were tested: 40 had been previously characterized by Qpanel, and 183 were obtained from the serum library of the Parasitology Department, Centro Nacional de Microbiología (66 chagasic, 97 healthy, 30 visceral leishmaniasis, and 30 malaria). Samples were examined using in-house IFAT and ELISA, 5 commercial ELISAs (Certest/Abbot Laboratories/BiosChile; Ortho Clinical Diagnostics; BLK Diagnostic; bioMérieux; and Biokit), particle gel agglutination (ID-PaGIA), and two immunochromatographic assays (Operon and CTK Biotech). The last 4 tests are based in recombinant antigens (non-conventional tests). The IFAT and ELISAs showed a sensitivity of 97% to 100%. The immunochromatographic tests had somewhat lower sensitivity (92%-96%). All non-conventional tests presented a smaller number of cross-reactions. Leishmania-Rk39-ELISA did not show cross-reactivity with chagasic sera. In general, our results confirm the data obtained by other authors. The sensitivity of ELISA is higher than other tests; therefore, these techniques would be the most appropriate for screening of T. cruzi infection. A suitable approach is the combination of a test using total antigen with another based on either recombinant antigens or synthetic peptides. (c) 2009 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  3. Familial associations with paratuberculosis ELISA results in Texas Longhorn cattle.

    PubMed

    Osterstock, Jason B; Fosgate, Geoffrey T; Cohen, Noah D; Derr, James N; Manning, Elizabeth J B; Collins, Michael T; Roussel, Allen J

    2008-05-25

    The objective of this cross-sectional study was to estimate familial associations with paratuberculosis ELISA status in beef cattle. Texas Longhorn cattle (n=715) greater than 2years of age were sampled for paratuberculosis testing using ELISA and fecal culture. Diagnostic test results were indicative of substantial numbers of false-positive serological reactions consistent with environmental exposure to non-MAP Mycobacterium spp. Associations between ancestors and paratuberculosis ELISA status of offspring were assessed using conditional logistic regression. The association between ELISA status of the dam and her offspring was assessed using linear mixed-effect models. Significant associations were identified between some ancestors and offspring ELISA status. The odds of being classified as "suspect" or greater based on ELISA results were 4.6 times greater for offspring of dams with similarly increased S:P ratios. A significant positive linear association was also observed between dam and offspring log-transformed S:P ratios. Results indicate that there is familial aggregation of paratuberculosis ELISA results in beef cattle and suggest that genetic selection based on paratuberculosis ELISA status may decrease seroprevalence. However, genetic selection may have minimal effect on paratuberculosis control in herds with exposure to non-MAP Mycobacterium spp.

  4. Influence of true within-herd prevalence of small ruminant lentivirus infection in goats on agreement between serological immunoenzymatic tests.

    PubMed

    Czopowicz, Michał; Szaluś-Jordanow, Olga; Mickiewicz, Marcin; Moroz, Agata; Witkowski, Lucjan; Markowska-Daniel, Iwona; Bagnicka, Emilia; Kaba, Jarosław

    2017-09-01

    The study was conducted to evaluate influence of the true within-herd prevalence of small ruminant lentivirus (SRLV) infection on agreement beyond chance between three different types of commercial serological ELISAs. Blood samples were collected from 865 goats from 12 dairy goat herds. Serum samples were tested using three commercial ELISA kits: whole-virus indirect ELISA (wELISA), indirect ELISA based on recombined TM and CA antigens (TM/CA-ELISA), and competitive-inhibition ELISA based on SU antigen (SU-ELISA). Herds were classed into three prevalence strata of high (>50%), moderate (10-50%) and low (<10%) true within-herd prevalence of SRLV infection. The latter was estimated on the basis of results of wELISA adjusted by its sensitivity and specificity. Agreement beyond chance between the three ELISAs was assessed at two levels. First, the general agreement was determined using two coefficients corrected for chance-agreement: Cohen's kappa and Gwet's AC 1 . Then, agreement between tests was evaluated using Gwet's AC 1 separately in the three prevalence strata and compared between them by computing 95% confidence intervals for differences with a Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. The general agreement between the three tests was very good: wELISA and TM/CA-ELISA - Cohen's kappa of 81.8% (CI 95%: 77.9% to 85.7%), Gwet's AC 1 of 82.7% (CI 95%: 79.0% to 86.4%); wELISA and SU-ELISA - Cohen's kappa of 83.2% (CI 95%: 79.4% to 86.9%), Gwet's AC 1 of 83.9% (CI 95%: 80.4% to 87.5%); TM/CA-ELISA and SU-ELISA - Cohen's kappa of 86.0% (CI 95%: 82.6% to 89.5%), Gwet's AC 1 of 86.9% (CI 95%: 83.6% to 90.1%). However, agreement between ELISAs was significantly related to the within-herd true prevalence - it was significantly lower (although still high) when within-herd true prevalence was moderate (Gwet's AC 1 between 67.2% and 78.7%), whereas remained very high, when true within-herd prevalence was either >50% (Gwet's AC 1 between 91.9% and 98.8%) or <10% (Gwet's AC 1 between 94.7% and 98.4%). Concluding, the three different commercial ELISAs for SRLV infection in goats available on the market yield highly consistent results. However, their agreement is affected by the true within-herd prevalence in a tested population, and the worse (although still high) agreement should be expected, when the percentage of infected goats is moderate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Comparing validation of four ELISA-systems for detection of Salmonella derby- and Salmonella infantis-infected pigs.

    PubMed

    Roesler, Uwe; Szabo, Istvan; Matthies, Claudia; Albrecht, Kerstin; Leffler, Martin; Scherer, Kathrin; Nöckler, Karsten; Lehmann, Jörg; Methner, Ulrich; Hensel, Andreas; Truyen, Uwe

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this study was the comparative evaluation of four indirect Salmonella ELISA tests at study time approved in Germany to detect Salmonella infection in pigs.Three tests are based on a LPS-antigen mix and directed against specific IgG antibodies. The fourth test is based on a purified S. Typhimurium whole-cell lysate antigen and discriminates between Salmonella-specific IgM-, IgA-, and IgG- antibodies. In a longitudinal study, two groups of six weeks old hybrid piglets were orally infected with a porcine S. Infantis or S. Derby strain. Clinical and bacteriological parameters were monitored weekly during an observation period of 130 days after infection and serum samples were investigated in parallel with the respective ELISAs. Apparently, the LPS-based ELISA systems used in this study failed to recognize S. Infantis-infected pigs although those animals shed the pathogen in high amounts throughout the study until day 81 post infection (p. i.). In contrast, the isotype-specific Salmonella Typhimurium whole-cell-lysate based ELISA was capable of detecting Salmonella-infected pigs from day ten p. i. at all tested serotypes and revealed the highest sensitivity in detection of S. Infantis-infected pigs. Furthermore, it became apparent that the often used surveillance cut-off value of 40 OD% is not appropriate for intra-vitam detection of S. Infantis- and S. Derby-infected pigs. In contrast, the cut-off values of the ELISAs given by the suppliers result in considerable higher detection rates.

  6. Development and evaluation of a truncated recombinant NS3 antigen-based indirect ELISA for detection of pestivirus antibodies in sheep and goats.

    PubMed

    Kalaiyarasu, Semmannan; Mishra, Niranjan; Rajukumar, Katherukamem; Nema, Ram Kumar; Behera, Sthita Pragnya

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop an indirect ELISA using the helicase domain of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) NS3 protein instead of full-length NS3 protein for detection of BVDV and BDV antibodies in sheep and goats and its validation by comparing its sensitivity and specificity with virus neutralization test (VNT) as the reference test. The purified 50 kDa recombinant NS3 protein was used as the coating antigen in the ELISA. The optimal concentration of antigen was 320 ng/well at a serum dilution of 1:20 and the optimal positive cut-off optical density value was 0.40 based on test results of 418 VNT negative sheep and goat sera samples. When 569 serum samples from sheep (463) and goats (106) were tested, the ELISA showed a sensitivity of 91.71% and specificity of 94.59% with BVDV VNT. A good correlation (93.67%) was observed between the two tests. It showed a sensitivity of 85% and specificity of 86.6% with VNT in detecting BDV antibody positive or negative samples. This study demonstrates the efficacy of truncated recombinant NS3 antigen based ELISA for seroepidemiological study of pestivirus infection in sheep and goats.

  7. Evaluation and comparison of native and recombinant LipL21 protein-based ELISAs for diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis.

    PubMed

    Joseph, Siju; Thomas, Naicy; Thangapandian, E; Singh, Vijendra P; Verma, Rishendra; Srivastava, S K

    2012-03-01

    A 21-kDa leptospiral lipoprotein (LipL21) was evaluated for its diagnostic potential to detect bovine leptospirosis by ELISA. Both native LipL21 (nLipL21) and recombinant LipL21 (rLipL21) proteins were tested and compared regarding diagnostic efficiency, and no statistically significant difference was observed. The sensitivity of rLipL21 ELISA for 62 microscopic agglutination test (MAT) positive sera was 100% and the specificity with 378 MAT negative sera was 97.09%. Thus, rLipL21 protein-based ELISA could be used as an alternative to MAT for the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis.

  8. A fully integrated distance readout ELISA-Chip for point-of-care testing with sample-in-answer-out capability.

    PubMed

    Liu, Dan; Li, Xingrui; Zhou, Junkai; Liu, Shibo; Tian, Tian; Song, Yanling; Zhu, Zhi; Zhou, Leiji; Ji, Tianhai; Yang, Chaoyong

    2017-10-15

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a popular laboratory technique for detection of disease-specific protein biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity. However, ELISA requires labor-intensive and time-consuming procedures with skilled operators and spectroscopic instrumentation. Simplification of the procedures and miniaturization of the devices are crucial for ELISA-based point-of-care (POC) testing in resource-limited settings. Here, we present a fully integrated, instrument-free, low-cost and portable POC platform which integrates the process of ELISA and the distance readout into a single microfluidic chip. Based on manipulation using a permanent magnet, the process is initiated by moving magnetic beads with capture antibody through different aqueous phases containing ELISA reagents to form bead/antibody/antigen/antibody sandwich structure, and finally converts the molecular recognition signal into a highly sensitive distance readout for visual quantitative bioanalysis. Without additional equipment and complicated operations, our integrated ELISA-Chip with distance readout allows ultrasensitive quantitation of disease biomarkers within 2h. The ELISA-Chip method also showed high specificity, good precision and great accuracy. Furthermore, the ELISA-Chip system is highly applicable as a sandwich-based platform for the detection of a variety of protein biomarkers. With the advantages of visual analysis, easy operation, high sensitivity, and low cost, the integrated sample-in-answer-out ELISA-Chip with distance readout shows great potential for quantitative POCT in resource-limited settings. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Indirect competitive ELISA based on monoclonal antibody for the detection of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural in milk, compared with HPLC.

    PubMed

    Guan, Yongguang; Wu, Xinlan; Meng, Hecheng

    2013-08-01

    In this study, a method for rapid detection of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (HMF) was investigated. Monoclonal antibody (anti-HMF) was prepared and evaluated by an indirect competitive ELISA (ic-ELISA) format. The optimized standard curve was y=-0.2097x+1.0432 [where x is the logarithm (base 10) of the values of the HMF concentration and y is the absorbance of ic-ELISA results tested at 490 nm] and the linear detection range was 0.008 to 32.768 mg/L. The percentage of cross-reactivity of HMF with 5 major furfural derivatives was less than 2.92%. Finally, the established ic-ELISA format was used to test HMF in milk, and compared with the result obtained by HPLC, which produced an error of about 0.3%. Based on the data in this experiment, we concluded that the established ic-ELISA format was reliable with a high specificity. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Optimization and Validation of ELISA for Pre-Clinical Trials of Influenza Vaccine.

    PubMed

    Mitic, K; Muhandes, L; Minic, R; Petrusic, V; Zivkovic, I

    2016-01-01

    Testing of every new vaccine involves investigation of its immunogenicity, which is based on monitoring its ability to induce specific antibodies in animals. The fastest and most sensitive method used for this purpose is enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). However, commercial ELISA kits with whole influenza virus antigens are not available on the market, and it is therefore essential to establish an adequate assay for testing influenza virusspecific antibodies. We developed ELISA with whole influenza virus strains for the season 2011/2012 as antigens and validated it by checking its specificity, accuracy, linearity, range, precision, and sensitivity. The results show that we developed high-quality ELISA that can be used to test immunogenicity of newly produced seasonal or pandemic vaccines in mice. The pre-existence of validated ELISA enables shortening the time from the process of vaccine production to its use in patients, which is particularly important in the case of a pandemic.

  11. Comparative Diagnosis of Serum IgG1 and Coproantigen ELISA for Fasciolosis Detection of Goats in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Villa-Mancera, Abel; Molina-Mendoza, Pedro; Hernández-Guzmán, Karina; Olivares-Pérez, Jaime; Sarracent-Pérez, Jorge; Zumaquero-Ríos, José

    2016-01-01

    The objective of present study was to determine the prevalence of natural caprine fasciolosis in the Mixteca region of Mexico using coproantigen and serum IgG1 ELISA tests for comparative purposes. A total of 1070 serum and faecal samples were analyzed for IgG1 antibodies and coproantigens, using ELISA with E/S products as antigen and a monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA. Prevalence of 73.46% was found using the serological ELISA and a percentage of 77.20 was found for coproantigen ELISA. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for serum ELISA were 86.7% and 96.4%, and for the coproantigen ELISA they were 93.1% and 97.8%, respectively. The seropositive samples were further categorized as low, medium, or high positivity. Results show a great proportion of low and medium positive goats when the serum ELISA test was used. Correlation coefficients between coproantigens and seropositivity were statistically significant (P < 0.01) for low seropositivity (r = 0.93) and medium seropositivity (r = 0.84). The accuracy of faecal antigen ELISA was higher compared to indirect ELISA serological test. Two ELISAs were shown to be useful for demonstrating the current status of F. hepatica infection in the endemic areas and can be employed in studies on epidemiology as well as anthelmintics treatment for preventing economic loss and the risk of transmission to humans.

  12. Comparative Diagnosis of Serum IgG1 and Coproantigen ELISA for Fasciolosis Detection of Goats in Mexico

    PubMed Central

    Molina-Mendoza, Pedro; Hernández-Guzmán, Karina; Olivares-Pérez, Jaime; Sarracent-Pérez, Jorge; Zumaquero-Ríos, José

    2016-01-01

    The objective of present study was to determine the prevalence of natural caprine fasciolosis in the Mixteca region of Mexico using coproantigen and serum IgG1 ELISA tests for comparative purposes. A total of 1070 serum and faecal samples were analyzed for IgG1 antibodies and coproantigens, using ELISA with E/S products as antigen and a monoclonal antibody-based sandwich ELISA. Prevalence of 73.46% was found using the serological ELISA and a percentage of 77.20 was found for coproantigen ELISA. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for serum ELISA were 86.7% and 96.4%, and for the coproantigen ELISA they were 93.1% and 97.8%, respectively. The seropositive samples were further categorized as low, medium, or high positivity. Results show a great proportion of low and medium positive goats when the serum ELISA test was used. Correlation coefficients between coproantigens and seropositivity were statistically significant (P < 0.01) for low seropositivity (r = 0.93) and medium seropositivity (r = 0.84). The accuracy of faecal antigen ELISA was higher compared to indirect ELISA serological test. Two ELISAs were shown to be useful for demonstrating the current status of F. hepatica infection in the endemic areas and can be employed in studies on epidemiology as well as anthelmintics treatment for preventing economic loss and the risk of transmission to humans. PMID:27563665

  13. Evaluation of a new serological technique for detecting rabies virus antibodies following vaccination.

    PubMed

    Ma, Xiaoyue; Niezgoda, Michael; Blanton, Jesse D; Recuenco, Sergio; Rupprecht, Charles E

    2012-08-03

    Two major techniques are currently used to estimate rabies virus antibody values: neutralization assays, such as the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). The RFFIT is considered the gold standard assay and has been used to assess the titer of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies for more than three decades. In the late 1970s, ELISA began to be used to estimate the level of rabies virus antibody and has recently been used by some laboratories as an alternate screening test for animal sera. Although the ELISA appears simpler, safer and more efficient, the assay is less sensitive in detecting low values of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies than neutralization tests. This study was designed to evaluate a new ELISA-based method for detecting rabies virus binding antibody. This new technique uses electro-chemi-luminescence labels and carbon electrode plates to detect binding events. In this comparative study, the RFFIT and the new ELISA-based technique were used to evaluate the level of rabies virus antibodies in human and animal serum samples. By using a conservative approximation of 0.15 IU/ml as a cutoff point, the new ELISA-based technique demonstrated a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 95% for human samples and for experimental animal samples. The sensitivity and specificity for field animal samples was 96% and 95%, respectively. The preliminary results from this study appear promising and demonstrate a higher sensitivity than traditional ELISA methods. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Performance of Leishmania PFR1 recombinant antigen in serological diagnosis of asymptomatic canine leishmaniosis by ELISA.

    PubMed

    Ledesma, Darién; Berriatua, Eduardo; Thomas, M Carmen; Bernal, Luis Jesús; Ortuño, María; Benitez, Celia; Egui, Adriana; Papasouliotis, Kostas; Tennant, Bryn; Chambers, Julia; Infante, Juan José; López, Manuel Carlos

    2017-10-23

    Leishmania infantum is a protozoan parasite transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies that causes life-threatening disease in humans and dogs. The dog is the primary reservoir of the parasite and early diagnosis of canine leishmaniosis is crucial at the clinical and epidemiological level. The currently available serological tests for CanL diagnostic show limitations therefore the aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of an indirect antibody ELISA based on the Leishmania infantum recombinant antigen PFR1 in asymptomatically infected dogs. One hundred fifty-six dogs including Leishmania-free experimental Beagles and pet dogs from England, Scotland and Leishmania-endemic Murcia in Spain, were tested with the assay. The later were also tested with two commercial L. infantum crude antigen ELISAs (INgezim and Civtest, respectively) and a real-time kinetoplast PCR test. Anti-PFR1 antibodies were detected in the four groups of dogs, and the mean log-transformed optical density (OD) values were lowest in Beagles and in dogs from England and highest among dogs from Murcia (p < 0.05). Using the highest OD in beagles as the PFR1 ELISA cut-off point, the estimated seroprevalence was 27% (14-40%) in dogs from Murcia, 4% (0-9%) in dogs from Scotland and 3% (0-8%) in dogs from England (p < 0.05). Seroprevalence in dogs from Murcia according to the INgezim and Civtest ELISAs were 24% (12-37%) and 31% (18-45%), respectively, whilst the prevalence of infection based on PCR in these dogs was 73% (60-86). The percentages of PFR1-positive dogs that tested negative on the INgezim and Civtest ELISAs were 30% and 35%, respectively, and all of them tested positive on the PCR test. Relative to the PCR, the specificity, sensitivity and area under the ROC curve of the PFR1 ELISA were 100%, 36% and 0.74 (0.63-0.86), respectively. The ability shown by the PFR1 ELISA to detect infected dogs that go undetected by the crude antigen ELISAs is clinically and epidemiologically useful and PFR1 could be considered a candidate for a multi-antigen-based immunoassay for early detection of L. infantum infected dogs.

  15. A novel indirect ELISA based on glycoprotein Gn for the detection of IgG antibodies against Rift Valley fever virus in small ruminants.

    PubMed

    Jäckel, S; Eiden, M; Balkema-Buschmann, A; Ziller, M; van Vuren, P Jansen; Paweska, J T; Groschup, M H

    2013-10-01

    Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that causes high morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock. In this paper, we describe the cloning, expression and purification of RVFV glycoprotein Gn and its application as a diagnostic antigen in an indirect ELISA for the specific detection of RVF IgG antibodies in sheep and goats. The performance of this Gn based ELISA is validated using a panel of almost 2000 field samples from sheep and goats from Mozambique, Senegal, Uganda and Yemen. All serum samples were also tested by virus neutralization test (VNT), the gold standard method for RVFV serological testing. Compared to the VNT results the Gn based ELISA proved to have an excellent sensitivity (94.56%) and specificity (95.57%). Apart from establishing this new diagnostic assay, these results also demonstrate a close correlation between the presence of RVFV Gn and neutralizing antibodies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Comparative diagnostic efficacy of recombinant LLO and PI-PLC-based ELISAs for detection of listeriosis in animals.

    PubMed

    Suryawanshi, Rahul D; Malik, Satya Veer Singh; Jayarao, Bhushan; Chaudhari, Sandeep P; Savage, Emily; Vergis, Jess; Kurkure, Nitin V; Barbuddhe, Sukhadeo B; Rawool, Deepak B

    2017-06-01

    The present study for the first time evaluates the serodiagnostic efficacy of two recombinant antigens namely, listeriolysin O (rLLO) and phosphatidyl-inositol phospholipase C (rPI-PLC). Indirect ELISA with the above recombinant antigens was used on samples collected from bovines (n=106), goats (n=138) and pigs (n=92) having either a history of abortion, emaciation and/or apparently healthy animals. Isolation of Listeria was attempted from the blood samples using USDA-FSIS method. On screening of test sera by rLLO-based ELISA, antibodies against anti-listeriolysin O (ALLO) were observed in goats (22.46%), bovines (15.10%) and pigs (16.31%). As advocated, after adsorption of positive serum samples with streptolysin O (SLO), the seropositivity for ALLO was marginally reduced (p>0.05) in goats (21.73%) and bovines (10.38%), whereas, in pigs the reduction (5.43%) was significant (p<0.05). On the contrary, rPI-PLC-based ELISA revealed higher non-specific seropositivity for antilisterial antibodies in goats (45.65%), bovines (31.13%) and pigs (8.69%). Further, on comparing the seropositivity with isolation rate, of the 16 animals that were culturally-positive for L. monocytogenes, 15 showed ALLO positivity in unadsorbed as well as SLO-adsorbed sera by rLLO-based ELISA, however, rPI-PLC-based ELISA could detect seropositivity in only 5 animals. Moreover, rPI-PLC-based ELISA also showed seropositivity in those animals (7/30) that were culturally positive for other Listeria spp. In conclusion, rLLO can serve as a better antigen than rPI-PLC in ELISA for the serodiagnosis of listeriosis in animals; however, prior adsorption of test sera with SLO is required to avoid false positive results. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Characterization of novel monoclonal antibodies against the MERS-coronavirus spike protein and their application in species-independent antibody detection by competitive ELISA.

    PubMed

    Fukushi, Shuetsu; Fukuma, Aiko; Kurosu, Takeshi; Watanabe, Shumpei; Shimojima, Masayuki; Shirato, Kazuya; Iwata-Yoshikawa, Naoko; Nagata, Noriyo; Ohnishi, Kazuo; Ato, Manabu; Melaku, Simenew Keskes; Sentsui, Hiroshi; Saijo, Masayuki

    2018-01-01

    Since discovering the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) as a causative agent of severe respiratory illness in the Middle East in 2012, serological testing has been conducted to assess antibody responses in patients and to investigate the zoonotic reservoir of the virus. Although the virus neutralization test is the gold standard assay for MERS diagnosis and for investigating the zoonotic reservoir, it uses live virus and so must be performed in high containment laboratories. Competitive ELISA (cELISA), in which a labeled monoclonal antibody (MAb) competes with test serum antibodies for target epitopes, may be a suitable alternative because it detects antibodies in a species-independent manner. In this study, novel MAbs against the spike protein of MERS-CoV were produced and characterized. One of these MAbs was used to develop a cELISA. The cELISA detected MERS-CoV-specific antibodies in sera from MERS-CoV-infected rats and rabbits immunized with the spike protein of MERS-CoV. The MAb-based cELISA was validated using sera from Ethiopian dromedary camels. Relative to the neutralization test, the cELISA detected MERS-CoV-specific antibodies in 66 Ethiopian dromedary camels with a sensitivity and specificity of 98% and 100%, respectively. The cELISA and neutralization test results correlated well (Pearson's correlation coefficients=0.71-0.76, depending on the cELISA serum dilution). This cELISA may be useful for MERS epidemiological investigations on MERS-CoV infection. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Comparative examination and validation of ELISA test systems for Salmonella typhimurium diagnosis of slaughtering pigs.

    PubMed

    Szabó, I; Scherer, K; Roesler, U; Appel, B; Nöckler, K; Hensel, A

    2008-05-10

    The most frequently isolated Salmonella serotype from pork in Germany is S. typhimurium, especially phagetype DT 104. The monitoring programs on Salmonella in swine are based on enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) detecting antibodies in serum or meat juice. These serological results are used to classify swine herds in three categories to assess the hygienic status of farm regarding Salmonella infection in pigs. The object of this study was the comparative evaluation of four indirect Salmonella ELISA tests approved in Germany to detect Salmonella typhimurium infection of swine. Three tests (A-C) are based on LPS-antigen and directed against specific IgG-antibodies. The fourth test (D) bases on a whole-cell-lysate antigen and discriminates between Salmonella specific IgA-, IgM- and IgG-antibodies. In a longitudinal study sixteen 6 weeks old weaning pigs were orally infected with S. typhimurium DT 104. During an observation period of 138d clinical and bacteriological parameters were monitored and serum samples obtained at regular intervals as well as meat juice samples taken at slaughter were examined by the respective ELISA systems. Study results reveal that all tested ELISA systems are able to detect S. typhimurium infection in pigs in both sample matrices, blood serum and meat juice whereas test D showed the highest sensitivity to detect Salmonella antibodies in pigs. The sensitivity to detect Salmonella antibodies varied between tests A and C according to the used cut-off (test specific cut-off vs. recommended surveillance cut-off) resulting in a change of seroprevalence and hence may influence the Salmonella status of the farm.

  19. Assessment of maternal antibody decay and response to canine parvovirus vaccination using a clinic-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed

    Waner, T; Naveh, A; Wudovsky, I; Carmichael, L E

    1996-10-01

    Interference caused by maternal antibodies is considered a major cause of canine parvovirus (CPV) vaccination failure. In this study, an immunoblot clinic-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to detect CPV antibodies in sera of pregnant bitches and their offspring to study the response of pups to vaccination. With a easily accessible procedure for CPV antibody determination, the veterinarian should be able to gauge the response of pups after vaccination. The validity of the technique was tested in parallel against the standard hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Results of the ELISA were correlated with those of the standard HI method for quantification of CPV antibodies. With the ELISA, successfully immunized pups were identified, allowing for a more reliable and cost-effective program of vaccination. This simple clinic-based test could be used for the assessment of vaccination status of pups during the critical phase of 6 to about 16 weeks of age. This study is the first in which vaccination response to CPV in pups was followed, using a clinic-based ELISA for CPV antibody monitoring.

  20. An Automated ELISA Using Recombinant Antigens for Serologic Diagnosis of B Virus Infections in Macaques

    PubMed Central

    Katz, David; Shi, Wei; Patrusheva, Irina; Perelygina, Ludmila; Gowda, Manjunath S; Krug, Peter W; Filfili, Chadi N; Ward, John A; Hilliard, Julia K

    2012-01-01

    B virus (Macacine herpesvirus 1) occurs naturally in macaques and can cause lethal zoonotic infections in humans. Detection of B virus (BV) antibodies in macaques is essential for the development of SPF breeding colonies and for diagnosing infection in macaques that are involved in human exposures. Traditionally, BV infections are monitored for presence of antibodies by ELISA (a screening assay) and western blot analysis (WBA; a confirmatory test). Both tests use lysates of infected cells as antigens. Because WBA often fails to confirm the presence of low-titer serum antibodies detected by ELISA, we examined a recombinant-based ELISA as a potential alternative confirmatory test. We compared a high-throughput ELISA using 384-well plates for simultaneous antibody screening against 4 BV-related, recombinant proteins with the standard ELISA and WBA. The recombinant ELISA results confirmed more ELISA-positive sera than did WBA. The superiority of the recombinant ELISA over WBA was particularly prominent for sera with low (<500 ELISA units) antibody titers. Among low-titer sera, the relative sensitivity of the recombinant ELISA ranged from 36.7% to 45.0% as compared with 3.3% to 10.0% for WBA. In addition, the screening and confirmatory assays can be run simultaneously, providing results more rapidly. We conclude that the recombinant ELISA is an effective replacement for WBA as a confirmatory assay for the evaluation of macaque serum antibodies to BV. PMID:23561887

  1. Validation of 2 commercial Neospora caninum antibody enzyme linked immunosorbent assays

    PubMed Central

    Wu, John T.Y.; Dreger, Sally; Chow, Eva Y.W.; Bowlby, Evelyn E.

    2002-01-01

    Abstract This is a validation study of 2 commercially available enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies against Neospora caninum in bovine serum. The results of the reference sera (n = 30) and field sera from an infected beef herd (n = 150) were tested by both ELISAs and the results were compared statistically. When the immunoblotting results of the reference bovine sera were compared to the ELISA results, the same identity score (96.67%) and kappa values (K) (0.93) were obtained for both ELISAs. The sensitivity and specificity values for the IDEXX test were 100% and 93.33% respectively. For the Biovet test 93.33% and 100% were obtained. The corresponding positive (PV+) and negative predictive (PV−) values for the 2 assays were 93.75% and 100% (IDEXX), and 100% and 93.75% (Biovet). In the 2nd study, competitive inhibition ELISA (c-ELISA) results on bovine sera from an infected herd were compared to the 2 sets of ELISA results. The identity scores of the 2 ELISAs were 98% (IDEXX) and 97.33% (Biovet). The K values calculated were 0.96 (IDEXX) and 0.95 (Biovet). For the IDEXX test the sensitivity and specificity were 97.56% and 98.53%, whereas for the Biovet assay 95.12% and 100% were recorded, respectively. The corresponding PV+ and PV− values were 98.77% and 97.1% (IDEXX), and 100% and 94.44% (Biovet). Our validation results showed that the 2 ELISAs worked equally well and there was no statistically significant difference between the performance of the 2 tests. Both tests showed high reproducibility, repeatability and substantial agreement with results from 2 other laboratories. A quality assurance based on the requirement of the ISO/IEC 17025 standards has been adopted throughout this project for test validation procedures. PMID:12418782

  2. Seroprevalence of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis and lyme borreliosis in Canada as determined by a point-of-care enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

    PubMed

    Schvartz, Gili; Epp, Tasha; Burgess, Hilary J; Chilton, Neil B; Pearl, David L; Lohmann, Katharina L

    2015-06-01

    Equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA) and Lyme borreliosis (LB) are an emerging concern in Canada. We estimated the seroprevalence of EGA and equine LB by testing 376 convenience serum samples from 3 provinces using a point-of-care SNAP(®) 4Dx(®) ELISA (IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, Maine, USA), and investigated the agreement between the point-of-care ELISA and laboratory-based serologic tests. The estimated seroprevalence for EGA was 0.53% overall (0.49% in Saskatchewan, 0.71% in Manitoba), while the estimated seroprevalence for LB was 1.6% overall (0.49% in Saskatchewan, 2.86% in Manitoba). There was limited agreement between the point-of-care ELISA and an indirect fluorescent antibody test for EGA (kappa 0.1, PABAK 0.47) and an ELISA/Western blot combination for LB (kappa 0.23, PABAK 0.71). While the SNAP(®) 4Dx(®) ELISA yielded expected seroprevalence estimates, further evaluation of serologic tests for the purposes of disease exposure recognition may be needed.

  3. Cellphone-based hand-held microplate reader for point-of-care ELISA testing (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berg, Brandon; Cortazar, Bingen; Tseng, Derek; Ozkan, Haydar; Feng, Steve; Wei, Qingshan; Chan, Raymond Y.; Burbano, Jordi; Farooqui, Qamar; Lewinski, Michael; Di Carlo, Dino; Garner, Omai B.; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2016-03-01

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in a microplate format has been a gold standard first-line clinical test for diagnosis of various diseases including infectious diseases. However, this technology requires a relatively large and expensive multi-well scanning spectrophotometer to read and quantify the signal from each well, hindering its implementation in resource-limited-settings. Here, we demonstrate a cost-effective and handheld smartphone-based colorimetric microplate reader for rapid digitization and quantification of immunoserology-related ELISA tests in a conventional 96-well plate format at the point of care (POC). This device consists of a bundle of 96 optical fibers to collect the transmitted light from each well of the microplate and direct all the transmission signals from the wells onto the camera of the mobile-phone. Captured images are then transmitted to a remote server through a custom-designed app, and both quantitative and qualitative diagnostic results are returned back to the user within ~1 minute per 96-well plate by using a machine learning algorithm. We tested this mobile-phone based micro-plate reader in a clinical microbiology lab using FDA-approved mumps IgG, measles IgG, and herpes simplex virus IgG (HSV-1 and HSV-2) ELISA tests on 1138 remnant patient samples (roughly 50% training and 50% testing), and achieved an overall accuracy of ~99% or higher for each ELISA test. This handheld and cost-effective platform could be immediately useful for large-scale vaccination monitoring in low-infrastructure settings, and also for other high-throughput disease screening applications at POC.

  4. Difference between beta1-adrenoceptor autoantibodies of human and animal origin-Limitations detecting beta1-adrenoceptor autoantibodies using peptide based ELISA technology.

    PubMed

    Wenzel, Katrin; Schulze-Rothe, Sarah; Müller, Johannes; Wallukat, Gerd; Haberland, Annekathrin

    2018-01-01

    Cell-based analytics for the detection of the beta1-adrenoceptor autoantibody (beta1-AAB) are functional, yet difficult to handle, and should be replaced by easily applicable, routine lab methods. Endeavors to develop solid-phase-based assays such as ELISA to exploit epitope moieties for trapping autoantibodies are ongoing. These solid-phase-based assays, however, are often unreliable when used with human patient material, in contrast to animal derived autoantibodies. We therefore tested an immunogen peptide-based ELISA for the detection of beta1-AAB, and compared commercially available goat antibodies against the 2nd extracellular loop of human beta1-adrenoceptor (ADRB1-AB) to autoantibodies enriched from patient material. The functionality of these autoantibodies was tested in a cell based assay for comparison and their structural appearance was investigated using 2D gel electrophoresis. The ELISA showed a limit of detection for ADRB1-AB of about 1.5 nmol antibody/L when spiked in human control serum and only about 25 nmol/L when spiked in species identical (goat) matrix material. When applied to samples of human origin, the ELISA failed to identify the specific beta1-AABs. A low concentration of beta1-AAB, together with structural inconsistency of the patient originated samples as seen from the 2D Gel appearance, might contribute to the failure of the peptide based ELISA technology to detect human beta1-AABs.

  5. Serological diagnosis of bovine neosporosis: a comparative study of commercially available ELISA tests.

    PubMed

    Alvarez-García, Gema; García-Culebras, Alicia; Gutiérrez-Expósito, Daniel; Navarro-Lozano, Vanesa; Pastor-Fernández, Iván; Ortega-Mora, Luis Miguel

    2013-11-15

    Bovine neosporosis control programs are currently based on herd management and serodiagnosis because effective treatments and vaccines are unavailable. Although a wide variety of serological tools have been developed, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are the most commonly commercialized tests. Partial comparative studies have been performed in the past, and the panel of available ELISAs has notably changed in the last few years. Therefore, diagnostic laboratories are requesting updated information about the performance of these tests. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to compare all of the commercially available ELISAs (n=10) by evaluating their performance and to re-standardize them based on TG-ROC analyses when necessary. For this purpose, a well-characterized serum panel from experimentally and naturally infected bovines and non-infected bovines (n=458) was used. Two different definitions of gold standard were considered: (i) the result of the majority of tests and (ii) pre-test information based on epidemiological, clinical and serological data. Most of the tests displayed high sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) values when both gold standard criteria were considered. Furthermore, all the tests showed near perfect agreement, with the exception of the pair-wise comparisons that included the VMRD and SVANOVIR. The best-adjusted ELISAs were the HIPRA-CIVTEST, IDVET, BIOVET and IDEXX Rum (Se and Sp>95%). After the TG-ROC analyses, higher Se and Sp values were obtained for the BIO-X, LSI Bov, LSI Rum and IDEXX Bov, though the increases were more significant for the SVANOVIR and VMRD. The Kappa values also increased with the new adjusted cut-offs. This is the first study that offers updated performance evaluations of commercially available ELISAs. Such analyses are essential for diagnostic laboratories and are valuable to the companies that develop and distribute these tests. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Nucleoprotein-based indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (indirect ELISA) for detecting antibodies specific to Ebola virus and Marbug virus.

    PubMed

    Huang, Yi; Zhu, Youjie; Yang, Mengshi; Zhang, Zhenqing; Song, Donglin; Yuan, Zhiming

    2014-12-01

    Full-length nucleoproteins from Ebola and Marburg viruses were expressed as His-tagged recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli and nucleoprotein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were established for the detection of antibodies specific to Ebola and Marburg viruses. The ELISAs were evaluated by testing antisera collected from rabbit immunized with Ebola and Marburg virus nucleoproteins. Although little cross-reactivity of antibodies was observed in anti-Ebola virus nucleoprotein rabbit antisera, the highest reactions to immunoglobulin G (IgG) were uniformly detected against the nucleoprotein antigens of homologous viruses. We further evaluated the ELISA's ability to detect antibodies to Ebola and Marburg viruses using human sera samples collected from individuals passing through the Guangdong port of entry. With a threshold set at the mean plus three standard deviations of average optical densities of sera tested, the ELISA systems using these two recombinant nucleoproteins have good sensitivity and specificity. These results demonstrate the usefulness of ELISA for diagnostics as well as ecological and serosurvey studies of Ebola and Marburg virus infection.

  7. Detection of undeclared animal by-products in commercial canine canned foods: Comparative analyses by ELISA and PCR-RFLP coupled with slab gel electrophoresis or capillary gel electrophoresis.

    PubMed

    Hsieh, Ming-Kun; Shih, Pei-Yin; Wei, Chia-Fong; Vickroy, Thomas W; Chou, Chi-Chung

    2016-03-30

    The potential presence of undeclared animal by-products in pet foods is not subject to routine examination. Previously published methods for species-based identification of animal by-products have not been used routinely owing to inconsistent results. The present study evaluated the utility of several approaches for accurate identification of animal by-products in 11 commercial brands of canine canned foods. Canine canned foods from several countries were analysed by ELISA, PCR-RFLP coupled with slab-gel electrophoresis (SGE) and capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) to test for evidence of by-products derived from cattle, chicken, sheep or pig. While CGE-based analysis detected all (24) animal-derived by-products that were reported for the 11 test samples, SGE and ELISA detected only 22/24 (92%) and 14/24 (58%) of labelled by-products, respectively. In addition, undeclared animal by-products were found using all three analytical approaches with CGE detecting more positives (19) than SGE (17) or ELISA (5). Significant disparities were evident between the labelled contents and the detected content of animal by-products. CGE-based testing for PCR products appears to provide greater sensitivity and accuracy than either SGE or ELISA-based methods. As testing of commercial products becomes more reliable and mainstream, manufacturers will need to develop more thorough and accurate labelling protocols. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Comparison of Laboratory-Developed and Commercial Monoclonal Antibody-Based Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Almond (Prunus dulcis) Detection and Quantification.

    PubMed

    Liu, Changqi; Chhabra, Guneet S; Zhao, Jing; Zaffran, Valerie D; Gupta, Sahil; Roux, Kenneth H; Gradziel, Thomas M; Sathe, Shridhar K

    2017-10-01

    A commercially available monoclonal antibody (mAb)-based direct sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit (BioFront Technologies, Tallahassee, Fla., U.S.A.) was compared with an in-house developed mAb 4C10-based ELISA for almond detection. The assays were comparable in sensitivity (limit of detection < 1 ppm full fat almond, limit of quantification < 5 ppm full fat almond), specificity (no cross-reactivity with 156 tested foods at a concentration of 100000 ppm whole sample), and reproducibility (intra- and interassay variability < 15% CV). The target antigens were stable and detectable in whole almond seeds subjected to autoclaving, blanching, frying, microwaving, and dry roasting. The almond recovery ranges for spiked food matrices were 84.3% to 124.6% for 4C10 ELISA and 81.2% to 127.4% for MonoTrace ELISA. The almond recovery ranges for commercial and laboratory prepared foods with declared/known almond amount were 30.9% to 161.2% for 4C10 ELISA and 38.1% to 207.6% for MonoTrace ELISA. Neither assay registered any false-positive or negative results among the tested commercial and laboratory prepared samples. Ability to detect and quantify trace amounts of almonds is important for improving safety of almond sensitive consumers. Two monoclonal antibody-based ELISAs were compared for almond detection. The information is useful to food industry, regulatory agencies, scientific community, and almond consumers. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  9. A new trivalent SnSAG surface antigen chimera for efficient detection of antibodies against Sarcocystis neurona and diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis.

    PubMed

    Yeargan, Michelle; de Assis Rocha, Izabela; Morrow, Jennifer; Graves, Amy; Reed, Stephen M; Howe, Daniel K

    2015-05-01

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on the SnSAG surface antigens of Sarcocystis neurona provide reliable detection of infection by the parasite. Moreover, accurate serodiagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is achieved with the SnSAG ELISAs by measuring antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to reveal active infection in the central nervous system. Two independent ELISAs based on recombinant (r)SnSAG2 or a chimeric fusion of SnSAG3 and SnSAG4 (rSnSAG4/3) are currently used together for EPM serodiagnosis to overcome varied antibody responses in different horses. To achieve reliable antibody detection with a single ELISA instead of 2 separate ELISAs, rSnSAG2 was fused with rSnSAG4/3 into a single trivalent protein, designated rSnSAG2/4/3. Paired serum and CSF from 163 horses were tested with all 3 ELISAs. When the consensus antibody titers obtained with the rSnSAG2 and rSnSAG4/3 ELISAs were compared to the single SAG2/4/3 ELISA titers, Spearman rank correlation coefficients of ρ = 0.74 and ρ = 0.90 were obtained for serum and CSF, respectively, indicating strong agreement between the tests. When the rSnSAG2 and rSnSAG4/3 consensus serum-to-CSF titer ratio was compared to the rSnSAG2/4/3 serum-to-CSF titer ratio, the Spearman correlation coefficient was ρ = 0.87, again signifying strong agreement. Importantly, comparing the diagnostic interpretation of the serum-to-CSF titer ratios yielded a Cohen kappa value of 0.77. These findings suggest that the single ELISA based on the trivalent rSnSAG2/4/3 will provide serologic and diagnostic results that are highly comparable to the consensus of the 2 independent ELISAs based on rSnSAG2 and rSnSAG4/3. © 2015 The Author(s).

  10. Case finding advantage of HIV rapid tests in community settings: men who have sex with men in 12 programme areas in China, 2011.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Dapeng; Qi, Jinlei; Fu, Xiaojing; Meng, Sining; Li, Chengmei; Sun, Jiangping

    2015-05-01

    We sought to describe the advantage of rapid tests over ELISA tests in community-based screening for HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in urban areas of China. Data of 31,406 screening tests conducted over six months in 2011 among MSM across 12 areas were analyzed to compare the differences between those receiving rapid testing and ELISA. Rapid tests accounted for 45.8% of these screening tests. The rate of being screened positive was 7.2% among rapid tests and 5.3% for ELISA tests (χ(2 )= 49.161, p < 0.001). This advantage of rapid test in HIV case finding persisted even when socio-demographic, behavioural, screening recruitment channel and city were controlled for in logistic regression (exp[beta] = 1.42, p < 0.001, 95% CI = 1.27,1.59). MSM who received rapid tests, compared with those tested by ELISA, were less likely to use condoms during last anal sex (50.8% vs. 72.3%, χ(2 )= 1706.146, p < 0.001), more likely to have multiple sex partners (55.7% vs. 49.5%, χ(2 )= 238.188, p < 0.001) and less likely to have previously undergone HIV testing (38.8% vs. 54.7%, χ(2 )= 798.476, p < 0.001). These results demonstrate the robustness of the advantage of rapid tests over traditional ELISA tests in screening for MSM with HIV infection in cooperation with community-based organizations in urban settings in China. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  11. Grantee Spotlight: Elisa Rodriguez, Ph.D., M.S.

    Cancer.gov

    Dr. Elisa M. Rodriguez tests the feasibility of community-based participatory research approaches to engaging Hispanics, African Americans, and the medically underserved in the Buffalo, NY area in biospecimen donation for cancer research.

  12. Image-based ELISA on an activated polypropylene microtest plate--a spectrophotometer-free low cost assay technique.

    PubMed

    Parween, Shahila; Nahar, Pradip

    2013-10-15

    In this communication, we report ELISA technique on an activated polypropylene microtest plate (APPµTP) as an illustrative example of a low cost diagnostic assay. Activated test zone in APPµTP binds a capture biomolecule through covalent linkage thereby, eliminating non-specific binding often prevalent in absorption based techniques. Efficacy of APPµTP is demonstrated by detecting human immunoglobulin G (IgG), human immunoglobulin E (IgE) and Aspergillus fumigatus antibody in patient's sera. Detection is done by taking the image of the assay solution by a desktop scanner and analyzing the color of the image. Human IgE quantification by color saturation in the image-based assay shows excellent correlation with absorbance-based assay (Pearson correlation coefficient, r=0.992). Significance of the relationship is seen from its p value which is 4.087e-11. Performance of APPµTP is also checked with respect to microtiter plate and paper-based ELISA. APPµTP can quantify an analyte as precisely as in microtiter plate with insignificant non-specific binding, a necessary prerequisite for ELISA assay. In contrast, paper-ELISA shows high non-specific binding in control sera (false positive). Finally, we have carried out ELISA steps on APPµTP by ultrasound waves on a sonicator bath and the results show that even in 8 min, it can convincingly differentiate a test sample from a control sample. In short, spectrophotometer-free image-based miniaturized ELISA on APPµTP is precise, reliable, rapid, and sensitive and could be a good substitute for conventional immunoassay procedures widely used in clinical and research laboratories. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Increased Sensitivity of HIV-1 p24 ELISA Using a Photochemical Signal Amplification System.

    PubMed

    Bystryak, Simon; Santockyte, Rasa

    2015-10-01

    In this study we describe a photochemical signal amplification method (PSAM) for increasing of the sensitivity of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for determination of HIV-1 p24 antigen. The photochemical signal amplification method is based on an autocatalytic photochemical reaction of a horseradish peroxidase (HRP) substrate, orthophenylenediamine (OPD). To compare the performance of PSAM-boosted ELISA with a conventional colorimetric ELISA for determination of HIV-1 p24 antigen we employed a PerkinElmer HIV-1 p24 ELISA kit, using conventional ELISA alongside ELISA + PSAM. In the present study, we show that PSAM technology allows one to increase the analytical sensitivity and dynamic range of a commercial HIV-1 p24 ELISA kit, with and without immune-complex disruption, by a factor of approximately 40-fold. ELISA + PSAM is compatible with commercially available microtiter plate readers, requires only an inexpensive illumination device, and the PSAM amplification step takes no longer than 15 min. This method can be used for both commercially available and in-house ELISA tests, and has the advantage of being considerably simpler and less costly than alternative signal amplification methods. This method can be used for both commercially available and in-house ELISA tests, and has the advantage of being considerably simpler and less costly than alternative signal amplification methods.

  14. The evaluation of GM6-based ELISA and ICT as diagnostic methods on a Mongolian farm with an outbreak of non-tsetse transmitted horse trypanosomosis.

    PubMed

    Davaasuren, Batdorj; Amgalanbaatar, Tovuu; Musinguzi, Simon Peter; Suganuma, Keisuke; Otgonsuren, Davaajav; Mossaad, Ehab; Narantsatsral, Sandagdorj; Battur, Banzragch; Battsetseg, Badgar; Xuan, Xuenan; Inoue, Noboru

    2017-09-15

    Trypanosoma equiperdum, which is the etiological agent of dourine, spreads through sexual intercourse in equines. Dourine (T. equiperdum) has been reported in Mongolia, where it is considered an economically important disease of horses. T. evansi has also been reported in Mongolian domestic animals. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential application of recombinant T. evansi GM6 (rTeGM6-4r)-based diagnostic methods on a farm with an outbreak of non-tsetse transmitted horse trypanosomosis. Ninety-seven percent homology was found between the amino acid sequences of T. equiperdum GM6 and the GM6 of another Trypanozoon, which also shared the same cellular localization. This finding suggests the utility of rTeGM6-4r-based serodiagnostic methods for epidemiological studies and the diagnosis of both surra and dourine in Equidae. Fifty blood samples were examined from a herd of horses. The diagnostic value of an rTeGM6-4r-based ELISA and an rTeGM6-4r-based immunochromatographic test (ICT) were measured in comparison to a T. evansi crude antigen-based ELISA, which is a diagnostic method recommended by the OIE. However, this is not a perfect diagnostic method for trypanosomosis. Positive serum samples were detected in 46%, 42% and 28% of the tested horses using an rTeGM6-4r-based ELISA, crude antigen-based ELISA and rTeGM6-4r-based ICT, respectively. The sensitivity of rTeGM6-based ELISA was 81%, the specificity was 79%, and the agreement was moderate. We conclude that rTeGM6-4r-based ELISA and ICT represent alternative options for baseline epidemiological studies and the on-site diagnosis of horse trypanosomoses in the field, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Comparison of nonstructural protein-1 antigen detection by rapid and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test and its correlation with polymerase chain reaction for early diagnosis of dengue

    PubMed Central

    Gaikwad, Seema; Sawant, Sandhya S.; Shastri, Jayanthi S.

    2017-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Early diagnosis of dengue is important for appropriate clinical management and vector control. Different serological tests based on the principle of immunochromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are commonly used for detection of antigen and antibodies of dengue virus. The performance of these tests depends on the sensitivity and specificity. Hence, the study was undertaken to compare nonstructural protein-1 (NS1) antigen detection by rapid and ELISA with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for diagnosis of dengue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective laboratory study was carried out on sera samples (n = 200) from clinically suspected cases of dengue. The sera samples were subjected for NS1 antigen detection test by rapid test, NS1 ELISA, and RT-PCR. The results of rapid and ELISA tests were compared with real Time PCR. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive value of rapid dengue NS1 antigen test were 81.5%, 66.7%, 78.2%, and 71.1%, respectively whereas that of NS1 ELISA were 89.9%, 100%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. Concordance of Rapid NS1 and NS1 ELISA with PCR was 75.5% and 94%. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: NS1 antigen ELISA can be implemented in diagnostic laboratories for diagnosis of dengue in the acute phase of illness. The test also has great potential value for use in epidemic situations, as it could facilitate the early screening of patients and limit disease expansion. PMID:28706387

  16. Characteristics of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of IgG antibodies specific to Сhlamydia trachomatis heat shock protein (HSP-60)

    PubMed

    Galkin, O Yu; Besarab, A B; Lutsenko, T N

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this work was to study sensitivity and specificity of the developed ELISA set for the identification of IgG antibodies against Chlamydia trachomatis HSP-60 (using biotinylated tyramine-based signal amplification system). The study was conducted using a panel of characterized sera, as well as two reference ELISA sets of similar purpose. According to the results of ELISA informative value parameters, the ELISA we have developed showed the highest specificity and sensitivity parameters (no false negative or false positive results were registered). In 4 out of 15 intralaboratory panel serum samples initially identified as negative, anti-HSP-60 IgG-antibodies test result in reference ELISA sets upon dilution changed from negative to positive. The nature of titration curves of false negative sera and commercial monoclonal antibodies А57-В9 against C. trachomatis HSP-60 after incubation for 24 h was indicative of the presence of anti-idiotypic antibodies in these samples. Upon sera dilution, idiotypic-anti-idiotypic complexes dissociated, which caused the change of test result. High informative value of the developed ELISA set for identification of IgG antibodies against C. trachomatis HSP-60 has been proven. Anti-idiotypic antibodies possessing C. trachomatis anti-HSP-60 activity and being one of the causes of false negative results of the relevant ELISA-based tests have been identified in blood sera of individuals infected with chlamydial genitourinary infection agents.

  17. Detection of LipL32-specific IgM by ELISA in sera of patients with a clinical diagnosis of leptospirosis

    PubMed Central

    Vedhagiri, Kumaresan; Velineni, Sridhar; Timoney, John F; Shanmughapriya, Santhanam; Vijayachari, Paluru; Narayanan, Ramasamy; Natarajaseenivasan, Kalimuthusamy

    2013-01-01

    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. PMID:23683367

  18. Comparsion of an immunochromatographic strip with ELISA for simultaneous detection of thiamphenicol, florfenicol and chloramphenicol in food samples.

    PubMed

    Guo, Lingling; Song, Shanshan; Liu, Liqiang; Peng, Juan; Kuang, Hua; Xu, Chuanlai

    2015-09-01

    Rapid and sensitive indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ic-ELISA) and gold nanoparticle immunochromatographic strip tests were developed to detect thiamphenicol (TAP), florfenicol (FF) and chloramphenicol (CAP) in milk and honey samples. The generic monoclonal antibody for TAP, FF and CAP was prepared based on a hapten [D-threo-1-(4-aminophenyl)-2- dichloroacetylamino-1,3-propanediol], and the haptenwas linked to a carrier protein using the diazotization method. After the optimization of several parameters (coating, pH, sodium chloride content and methanol content), the ic-ELISA was established. The quantitative working range for TAP was 0.11-1.36 ng/mL, with an IC50 of 0.39 ng/mL. The optimized ELISA showed cross-reactivity to CAP (300%) and FF (15.6%), with IC50 values of 0.13 and 2.5 ng/mL, respectively. The analytical recovery of TAP, FF and CAP in milk and honey samples in the ic-ELISA ranged from 81.2 to 112.9%. Based on this monoclonal antibody, a rapid and sensitive immunochromatographic test strip was also developed. This strip had a detection limit of 1 ng/mL for TAP, FF and CAP in milk and honey samples. Moreover, the test was completed within 10 min. Our results showed that the proposed ic-ELISA and immunochromatographic test strip method are highly useful screening tools for TAP, FF and CAP detection in milk and honey samples. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Validation of Geno-Sen's Scrub Typhus Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Kit by its Comparison with a Serological ELISA Test

    PubMed Central

    Anitharaj, Velmurugan; Stephen, Selvaraj; Pradeep, Jothimani; Pooja, Pratheesh; Preethi, Sridharan

    2017-01-01

    Background: In the recent past, scrub typhus (ST) has been reported from different parts of India, based on Weil-Felix/enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)/indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Molecular tests are applied only by a few researchers. Aims: Evaluation of a new commercial real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit for molecular diagnosis of ST by comparing it with the commonly used IgM ELISA is our aim. Settings and Design: ST has been reported all over India including Puducherry and surrounding Tamil Nadu and identified as endemic for ST. This study was designed to correlate antibody detection by IgM ELISA and Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA in real time PCR. Materials and Methods: ST IgM ELISA (InBios Inc., USA) was carried out for 170 consecutive patients who presented with the symptoms of acute ST during 11 months (November, 2015– September, 2016). All 77 of these patients with IgM ELISA positivity and 49 of 93 IgM ELISA negative patients were subjected to real time PCR (Geno-Sen's ST real time PCR, Himachal Pradesh, India). Statistical Analysis: Statistical analysis for clinical and laboratory results was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 17 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). Chi-square test with Yates correction (Fisher's test) was employed for a small number of samples. Results and Conclusion: Among 77 suspected cases of acute ST with IgM ELISA positivity and 49 IgM negative patients, 42 and 7 were positive, respectively, for O. tsutsugamushi 56-kDa type-specific gene in real time PCR kit. Until ST IFA, the gold standard diagnostic test, is properly validated in India, diagnosis of acute ST will depend on both ELISA and quantitative PCR. PMID:28878522

  20. Validation of Geno-Sen's Scrub Typhus Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Kit by its Comparison with a Serological ELISA Test.

    PubMed

    Anitharaj, Velmurugan; Stephen, Selvaraj; Pradeep, Jothimani; Pooja, Pratheesh; Preethi, Sridharan

    2017-01-01

    In the recent past, scrub typhus (ST) has been reported from different parts of India, based on Weil-Felix/enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)/indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Molecular tests are applied only by a few researchers. Evaluation of a new commercial real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit for molecular diagnosis of ST by comparing it with the commonly used IgM ELISA is our aim. ST has been reported all over India including Puducherry and surrounding Tamil Nadu and identified as endemic for ST. This study was designed to correlate antibody detection by IgM ELISA and Orientia tsutsugamushi DNA in real time PCR. ST IgM ELISA (InBios Inc., USA) was carried out for 170 consecutive patients who presented with the symptoms of acute ST during 11 months (November, 2015- September, 2016). All 77 of these patients with IgM ELISA positivity and 49 of 93 IgM ELISA negative patients were subjected to real time PCR (Geno-Sen's ST real time PCR, Himachal Pradesh, India). Statistical analysis for clinical and laboratory results was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 17 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). Chi-square test with Yates correction (Fisher's test) was employed for a small number of samples. Among 77 suspected cases of acute ST with IgM ELISA positivity and 49 IgM negative patients, 42 and 7 were positive, respectively, for O. tsutsugamushi 56-kDa type-specific gene in real time PCR kit. Until ST IFA, the gold standard diagnostic test, is properly validated in India, diagnosis of acute ST will depend on both ELISA and quantitative PCR.

  1. Advantages of the rapid HIV-1 test in occupational accidents with potentially contaminated material among health workers.

    PubMed

    Machado, A A; Martinez, R; Haikal, A A; Rodrigues da Silva, M C

    2001-01-01

    In occupational accidents involving health professionals handling potentially contaminated material, the decision to start or to continue prophylactic medication against infection by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been based on the ELISA test applied to a blood sample from the source patient. In order to rationalize the prophylactic use of antiretroviral agents, a rapid serologic diagnostic test of HIV infection was tested by the enzymatic immunoabsorption method (SUDS HIV 1+2, MUREX) and compared to conventional ELISA (Abbott HIV-1/ HIV-2 3rd Generation plus EIA). A total of 592 cases of occupational accidents were recorded at the University Hospital of Ribeirão Preto from July 1998 to April 1999. Of these, 109 were simultaneously evaluated by the rapid test and by ELISA HIV. The rapid test was positive in three cases and was confirmed by ELISA and in one the result was inconclusive and later found to be negative by ELISA. In the 106 accidents in which the rapid test was negative no prophylactic medication was instituted, with an estimated reduction in costs of US$ 2,889.35. In addition to this advantage, the good correlation of the rapid test with ELISA, the shorter duration of stress and the absence of exposure of the health worker to the adverse effects of antiretroviral agents suggest the adoption of this test in Programs of Attention to Accidents with Potentially Contaminated Material.

  2. Blood collected on filter paper for wildlife serology: detecting antibodies to Neospora caninum, West Nile virus, and five bovine viruses in reindeer.

    PubMed

    Curry, Patricia S; Ribble, Carl; Sears, William C; Hutchins, Wendy; Orsel, Karin; Godson, Dale; Lindsay, Robbin; Dibernardo, Antonia; Kutz, Susan J

    2014-04-01

    We compared Nobuto filter paper (FP) whole-blood samples to serum for detecting antibodies to seven pathogens in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus). Serum and FP samples were collected from captive reindeer in 2008-2009. Sample pairs (serum and FP eluates) were assayed in duplicate at diagnostic laboratories with the use of competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (cELISAs) for Neospora caninum and West Nile virus (WNV); indirect ELISA (iELISAs) for bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1), parainfluenza virus type 3 (PI-3), and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV); and virus neutralization (VN) for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) types I and II. Assay thresholds were evidence-based values employed by each laboratory. Comparable performance to serum was defined as FP sensitivity and specificity ≥ 80%. Filter-paper specificity estimates ranged from 92% in the cELISAs for N. caninum and WNV to 98% in the iELISAs for PI-3 and BRSV. Sensitivity was >85% for five tests (most ≥ 95%) but was insufficient (71-82%) for the PI-3 and BRSV iELISAs. Lowering the threshold for FP samples in these two ELISAs raised sensitivity to ≥ 87% and reduced specificity slightly (≥ 90% in three of the four test runs). Sample size limited the precision of some performance estimates. Based on the criteria of sensitivity and specificity ≥ 80%, and using adjusted FP thresholds for PI-3 and BRSV, FP sensitivity and specificity were comparable to serum in all seven assays. A potential limitation of FP is reduced sensitivity in tests that require undiluted serum (i.e., N. caninum cELISA and BVDV VNs). Possible toxicity to the assay cell layer in VN requires investigation. Results suggested that cELISA is superior to iELISA for detecting antibodies in FP samples from reindeer and other Rangifer tarandus subspecies. Our findings expand the potential utility of FP sampling from wildlife.

  3. Prevalence of antibodies to type A influenza virus in wild avian species using two serologic assays

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brown, Justin D.; Luttrell, M. Page; Berghaus, Roy D.; Kistler, Whitney; Keeler, Shamus P.; Howey, Andrea; Wilcox, Benjamin; Hall, Jeffrey S.; Niles, Larry; Dey, Amanda; Knutsen, Gregory; Fritz, Kristen; Stallknecht, David E.

    2010-01-01

    Serologic testing to detect antibodies to avian influenza (AI) virus has been an underused tool for the study of these viruses in wild bird populations, which traditionally has relied on virus isolation and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In a preliminary study, a recently developed commercial blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) had sensitivity and specificity estimates of 82% and 100%, respectively, for detection of antibodies to AI virus in multiple wild bird species after experimental infection. To further evaluate the efficacy of this commercial bELISA and the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test for AI virus antibody detection in wild birds, we tested 2,249 serum samples collected from 62 wild bird species, representing 10 taxonomic orders. Overall, the bELISA detected 25.4% positive samples, whereas the AGID test detected 14.8%. At the species level, the bELISA detected as many or more positive serum samples than the AGID in all 62 avian species. The majority of positive samples, detected by both assays, were from species that use aquatic habitats, with the highest prevalence from species in the orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes. Conversely, antibodies to AI virus were rarely detected in the terrestrial species. The serologic data yielded by both assays are consistent with the known epidemiology of AI virus in wild birds and published reports of host range based on virus isolation and RT-PCR. The results of this research are also consistent with the aforementioned study, which evaluated the performance of the bELISA and AGID test on experimental samples. Collectively, the data from these two studies indicate that the bELISA is a more sensitive serologic assay than the AGID test for detecting prior exposure to AI virus in wild birds. Based on these results, the bELISA is a reliable species-independent assay with potentially valuable applications for wild bird AI surveillance.

  4. Diagnosis of paratuberculosis by fecal culture and ELISA on milk and serum samples in two types of Chilean dairy goat herds.

    PubMed

    Salgado, Miguel; Kruze, Juan; Collins, Michael T

    2007-01-01

    Fecal culture has been the primary method used to diagnose paratuberculosis in goats. It is laborious, slow, and expensive. Validation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) on milk samples could make paratuberculosis testing more widely available for goat farmers. The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy of serum and milk ELISAs for paratuberculosis, relative to fecal culture, in Chilean dairy goats. Eight dairy goat herds were selected. Feces, blood, and milk samples were collected from all female goats >2 years old. Fecal samples were cultured using Herrold egg yolk medium with mycobactin J and antibiotics. Serum and milk samples were tested using a commercial ELISA kit for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis antibody detection. A total of 383 goats were tested by ELISA and fecal culture. The sensitivity of ELISA on serum and milk relative to fecal culture was 74.3% (95% CI: 59.8-88.8) and 60% (95% CI: 43.8-76.2), respectively. The corresponding values for ELISA specificity based on the percentage of non- M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected goats testing ELISA-negative were 98.6% (95% CI: 96.6-100) and 99.3% (95% CI: 97.9-100) on serum and milk, respectively. Proportions of positive results for serum and fecal samples were significantly different, whereas the proportions of positive results for milk and fecal samples were not significantly different. The milk ELISA had a moderate level of agreement with fecal culture results (Kappa = 0.57). The paratuberculosis ELISA on goat milk samples may be a cost-effective, accurate alternative to fecal culture.

  5. Multiband Gravitational-Wave Astronomy: Parameter Estimation and Tests of General Relativity with Space- and Ground-Based Detectors.

    PubMed

    Vitale, Salvatore

    2016-07-29

    With the discovery of the binary-black-hole (BBH) coalescence GW150914 the era of gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy has started. It has recently been shown that BBH with masses comparable to or higher than GW150914 would be visible in the Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) band a few years before they finally merge in the band of ground-based detectors. This would allow for premerger electromagnetic alerts, dramatically increasing the chances of a joint detection, if BBHs are indeed luminous in the electromagnetic band. In this Letter we explore a quite different aspect of multiband GW astronomy, and verify if, and to what extent, measurement of masses and sky position with eLISA could improve parameter estimation and tests of general relativity with ground-based detectors. We generate a catalog of 200 BBHs and find that having prior information from eLISA can reduce the uncertainty in the measurement of source distance and primary black hole spin by up to factor of 2 in ground-based GW detectors. The component masses estimate from eLISA will not be refined by the ground based detectors, whereas joint analysis will yield precise characterization of the newly formed black hole and improve consistency tests of general relativity.

  6. Management of bacterial kidney disease in Chinook Salmon hatcheries based on broodstock testing by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: A multiyear study

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Munson, A. Douglas; Elliott, Diane G.; Johnson, Keith

    2010-01-01

    From the mid-1980s through the early 1990s, outbreaks of bacterial kidney disease (BKD) caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum continued in Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) hatcheries despite the use of three control methods: (1) injection of returning adult fish with erythromycin to reduce prespawning BKD mortality and limit vertical transmission of R. salmoninarum, (2) topical disinfection of green eggs with iodophor, and (3) prophylactic treatments of juvenile fish with erythromycin-medicated feed. In addition, programs to manage BKD through measurement of R. salmoninarum antigen levels in kidney tissues from spawning female Chinook salmon by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were tested over 13–15 brood years at three IDFG hatcheries. The ELISA results were used for either (1) segregated rearing of progeny from females with high ELISA optical density (OD) values (usually ≥0.25), which are indicative of high R. salmoninarum antigen levels, or (2) culling of eggs from females with high ELISA OD values. The ELISA-based culling program had the most profound positive effects on the study populations. Mortality of juvenile fish during rearing was significantly lower at each hatchery for brood years derived from culling compared with brood years for which culling was not practiced. The prevalence of R. salmoninarum in juvenile fish, as evidenced by detection of the bacterium in kidney smears by the direct fluorescent antibody test, also decreased significantly at each hatchery. In addition, the proportions of returning adult females with kidney ELISA OD values of 0.25 or more decreased 56–85% for fish reared in brood years during which culling was practiced, whereas the proportions of ELISA-negative adults increased 55–58%. This management strategy may allow IDFG Chinook salmon hatcheries to reduce or eliminate prophylactic erythromycin-medicated feed treatments. We recommend using ELISA-based management of BKD in Chinook salmon hatcheries where it is a concern.

  7. Development of a sensitive and specific indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on a baculovirus recombinant antigen for detection of specific antibodies against Ehrlichia canis.

    PubMed

    López, Lissett; Venteo, Angel; Aguirre, Enara; García, Marga; Rodríguez, Majosé; Amusátegui, Inmaculada; Tesouro, Miguel A; Vela, Carmen; Sainz, Angel; Rueda, Paloma

    2007-11-01

    An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on baculovirus recombinant P30 protein of Ehrlichia canis and the 1BH4 anticanine IgG monoclonal antibody was developed and evaluated by examining a panel of 98 positive and 157 negative sera using the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test as the reference technique. The P30-based ELISA appeared to be sensitive and specific (77.55% and 95.54%, respectively) when qualitative results (positive/negative) were compared with those of the IFA test; the coefficient of correlation (R) between the 2 tests was 0.833. Furthermore, it was possible to establish a mathematical formula for use in comparing the results of both techniques. These results indicate that recombinant P30 antigen-based ELISA is a suitable alternative of the IFA test for simple, consistent, and rapid serodiagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis. Moreover, the use of this recombinant protein as antigen offers a great advantage for antigen preparation in comparison with other techniques in which the whole E. canis organism is used as antigen.

  8. Development of a serodiagnostic IgM-ELISA for tick-borne encephalitis virus using subviral particles with strep-tag.

    PubMed

    Nakayasu, Miki; Hirano, Minato; Muto, Memi; Kobayashi, Shintaro; Kariwa, Hiroaki; Yoshii, Kentaro

    2018-06-23

    Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a zoonotic agent causing severe encephalitis in humans. IgM antibody detection is useful for the serological diagnosis of TBEV infection, because IgM has high specificity for each flavivirus and indicates a recent infection. Commercial IgM-ELISA kits are somewhat expensive and difficulties in their sensitivity have been suggested due to their format and formalin-inactivated antigens. Therefore, the development of an inexpensive IgM-ELISA with high specificity and sensitivity is needed. In this study, a μ-capture ELISA was developed to detect TBEV-specific IgM antibodies using subviral particles (SPs) with strep-tag (strep-SP-IgM-ELISA). The results of our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA were highly correlated with diagnoses made by the neutralization test (sensitivity: 94.1%), and our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA could detect anti-TBEV IgM antibodies in patients who could not be diagnosed with the neutralization test. Besides, 51 of 52 positive samples by a commercial IgM-ELISA were also diagnosed as positive by our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA (98.1%), and our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA could detect anti-TBEV IgM antibodies in all samples that were inconclusive based on the commercial IgM-ELISA. Our strep-SP-IgM-ELISA will be useful for diagnoses in TBE-endemic areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  9. An rK28-Based Immunoenzymatic Assay for the Diagnosis of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis in Latin America

    PubMed Central

    Lauricella, Marta Alicia; Maidana, Cristina Graciela; Frias, Victoria Fragueiro; Romagosa, Carlo M.; Negri, Vanesa; Benedetti, Ruben; Sinagra, Angel J.; Luna, Concepcion; Tartaglino, Lilian; Laucella, Susana; Reed, Steven G.; Riarte, Adelina R.

    2016-01-01

    Direct observation of Leishmania parasites in tissue aspirates has shown low sensitivity for the detection of canine visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Therefore in the last quarter century immunoenzymatic tests have been developed to improve diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to develop a fast recombinant K28 antigen, naked-eye qualitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (VL Ql-ELISA) and a quantitative version (VL Qt-ELISA), and to display it in a kit format, whose cutoff value (0.156) was selected as the most adequate one to differentiate reactive from nonreactive samples. Considering 167 cases and 300 controls, sensitivity was 91% for both assays and specificity was 100% and 98.7% in Ql-ELISA and Qt-ELISA, respectively. Positive predictive values were 100% and 97.4% for Ql-ELISA and Qt-ELISA, respectively, and negative predictive values were 95.2% for both ELISAs. Reagent stability, reliability studies, including periodic repetitions and retest of samples, cutoff selection, and comparison of rK28 ELISAs with rK39 immunochromatographic test, were the international criteria that supported the quality in both kits. The performance of both ELISA kits in this work confirmed their validity and emphasized their usefulness for low-to-medium complexity laboratories. PMID:27162270

  10. Mass screening for Trypanosoma cruzi infections using the immunofluorescence, ELISA and haemagglutination tests on serum samples and on blood eluates from filter-paper.

    PubMed Central

    Zicker, F.; Smith, P. G.; Luquetti, A. O.; Oliveira, O. S.

    1990-01-01

    Methods used to diagnose Trypanosoma cruzi infection differ in their ability to discriminate between sera from infected and uninfected individuals. We compared the results of an immunofluorescence (IF) test, a haemagglutination (HA) test, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of T. cruzi infections in a large population-based survey in central Brazil using blood eluates from filter-paper and venous blood samples. The sensitivities of the tests on eluates, compared with results on serum samples, were low: ELISA (78.1%), IF (69.2%) and HA (64.6%). The level of agreement between the tests on eluates was very poor, with the best co-positivity for IF and ELISA. Both the positive and negative predictive values of the three tests on eluates were similar (around 96%) to those for sera. Higher co-positivity values were obtained for the three tests on sera. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to blood screening, routine medical practice, sero-epidemiological surveys, and the follow-up of patients admitted to therapeutic trials. PMID:2119903

  11. Mass screening for Trypanosoma cruzi infections using the immunofluorescence, ELISA and haemagglutination tests on serum samples and on blood eluates from filter-paper.

    PubMed

    Zicker, F; Smith, P G; Luquetti, A O; Oliveira, O S

    1990-01-01

    Methods used to diagnose Trypanosoma cruzi infection differ in their ability to discriminate between sera from infected and uninfected individuals. We compared the results of an immunofluorescence (IF) test, a haemagglutination (HA) test, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of T. cruzi infections in a large population-based survey in central Brazil using blood eluates from filter-paper and venous blood samples. The sensitivities of the tests on eluates, compared with results on serum samples, were low: ELISA (78.1%), IF (69.2%) and HA (64.6%). The level of agreement between the tests on eluates was very poor, with the best co-positivity for IF and ELISA. Both the positive and negative predictive values of the three tests on eluates were similar (around 96%) to those for sera. Higher co-positivity values were obtained for the three tests on sera. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to blood screening, routine medical practice, sero-epidemiological surveys, and the follow-up of patients admitted to therapeutic trials.

  12. Evaluation of recombinant LigB antigen-based indirect ELISA and latex agglutination test for the serodiagnosis of bovine leptospirosis in India.

    PubMed

    Deneke, Yosef; Sabarinath, T; Gogia, Neha; Lalsiamthara, Jonathan; Viswas, K N; Chaudhuri, Pallab

    2014-08-01

    Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic spirochetes of the genus Leptospira, causing febrile infection characterized by multi-organ failure in humans and animals. Leptospiral Ig-like protein B (LigB) is a surface-expressed antigen that mediates host cell invasion or attachment. In this study, N-terminal conserved region of LigB protein (46 kDa) was evaluated for its diagnostic potential to detect anti-leptospiral antibodies in the sera of various animal species. Dot blot analysis revealed immunoreactivity of Leptospira-positive sera of cattle, buffalo, dog, sheep and goat to purified LigB protein. We have analyzed 1126 bovine serum samples, collected from Northern and Eastern part of India, by microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and recombinant LigB (rLigB) based ELISA and latex agglutination test (LAT). The sensitivity of rLigB based ELISA for 554 MAT positive sera was 96.9% and the specificity with 572 MAT negative sera was 91.08% whereas LAT showed sensitivity and specificity of 93.68% and 92.31%, respectively. Kappa values of 0.879 and 0.860 for recombinant antigen based ELISA and LAT indicate excellent agreement with the gold standard serological test, MAT, for the detection of anti-leptospiral antibodies in sera. Further, LAT based on rLigB antigen is a simple and rapid test, suitable for serodiagnosis of leptospirosis under field conditions, owing to its portability and longer shelf life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. ELISA versus PCR for diagnosis of chronic Chagas disease: systematic review and meta-analysis

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Most current guidelines recommend two serological tests to diagnose chronic Chagas disease. When serological tests are persistently inconclusive, some guidelines recommend molecular tests. The aim of this investigation was to review chronic Chagas disease diagnosis literature and to summarize results of ELISA and PCR performance. Methods A systematic review was conducted searching remote databases (MEDLINE, LILACS, EMBASE, SCOPUS and ISIWeb) and full texts bibliography for relevant abstracts. In addition, manufacturers of commercial tests were contacted. Original investigations were eligible if they estimated sensitivity and specificity, or reliability -or if their calculation was possible - of ELISA or PCR tests, for chronic Chagas disease. Results Heterogeneity was high within each test (ELISA and PCR) and threshold effect was detected only in a particular subgroup. Reference standard blinding partially explained heterogeneity in ELISA studies, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 97.7% [96.7%-98.5%] and 96.3% [94.6%-97.6%] respectively. Commercial ELISA with recombinant antigens studied in phase three investigations partially explained heterogeneity, and pooled sensitivity and specificity were 99.3% [97.9%-99.9%] and 97.5% [88.5%-99.5%] respectively. ELISA's reliability was seldom studied but was considered acceptable. PCR heterogeneity was not explained, but a threshold effect was detected in three groups created by using guanidine and boiling the sample before DNA extraction. PCR sensitivity is likely to be between 50% and 90%, while its specificity is close to 100%. PCR reliability was never studied. Conclusions Both conventional and recombinant based ELISA give useful information, however there are commercial tests without technical reports and therefore were not included in this review. Physicians need to have access to technical reports to understand if these serological tests are similar to those included in this review and therefore correctly order and interpret test results. Currently, PCR should not be used in clinical practice for chronic Chagas disease diagnosis and there is no PCR test commercially available for this purpose. Tests limitations and directions for future research are discussed. PMID:21108793

  14. Limits of diagnostic accuracy of anti-hepatitis C virus antibodies detection by ELISA and immunoblot assay.

    PubMed

    Suslov, Anatoly P; Kuzin, Stanislav N; Golosova, Tatiana V; Shalunova, Nina V; Malyshev, Nikolai A; Sadikova, Natalia V; Vavilova, Lubov M; Somova, Anna V; Musina, Elena E; Ivanova, Maria V; Kipor, Tatiana T; Timonin, Igor M; Kuzina, Lubov E; Godkov, Mihail A; Bajenov, Alexei I; Nesterenko, Vladimir G

    2002-07-01

    When human sera samples are tested for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies using different ELISA kits as well as immunoblot assay kits discrepant results often occur. As a result the diagnostics of HCV infection in such sera remains unclear. The purpose of this investigation is to define the limits of HCV serodiagnostics. Overall 7 different test kits of domestic and foreign manufacturers were used for the sampled sera testing. Preliminary comparative study, using seroconversion panels PHV905, PHV907, PHV908 was performed and reference kit was chosen (Murex anti-HCV version 4) as the most sensitive kit on the base of this study results. Overall 1640 sera samples have been screened using different anti-HCV ELISA kits and 667 of them gave discrepant results in at least two kits. These sera were then tested using three anti-HCV ELISA kits (first set of 377 samples) or four anti-HCV ELISA kits (second set of 290 samples) at the conditions of reference laboratory. In the first set 17.2% samples remained discrepant and in the second set - 13.4%. "Discrepant" sera were further tested in RIBA 3.0 and INNO-LIA immunoblot confirmatory assays, but approximately 5-7% of them remained undetermined after all the tests. For the samples with signal-to-cutoff ratio higher than 3.0 high rate of result consistency by reference, ELISA routing and INNO-LIA immunoblot assay was observed. On the other hand the results of tests 27 "problematic" sera in RIBA 3.0 and INNO-LIA were consistent only in 55.5% cases. Analysis of the antigen spectrum reactive with antibodies in "problematic" sera, demonstrated predominance of Core, NS3 and NS4 antigens for sera, positive in RIBA 3.0 and Core and NS3 antigens for sera, positive in INNO-LIA. To overcome the problem of undetermined sera, methods based on other principles, as well as alternative criteria of HCV infection diagnostics are discussed.

  15. Moderate reagent mixing on an orbital shaker reduces the incubation time of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed

    Kumar, Saroj; Ahirwar, Rajesh; Rehman, Ishita; Nahar, Pradip

    2017-07-01

    Rapid diagnostic tests can be developed using ELISA for detection of diseases in emergency conditions. Conventional ELISA takes 1-2 days, making it unsuitable for rapid diagnostics. Here, we report the effect of reagents mixing via shaking or vortexing on the assay timing of ELISA. A 48-min protocol of ELISA involving 12-min incubations with reagent mixing at 750 rpm for every step was optimized. Contrary to this, time-optimized control ELISA performed without mixing produced similar results in 8 h, leaving a time gain of 7 h using the developed protocol. Collectively, the findings suggest the development of ELISA-based rapid diagnostics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Validation of a novel saliva-based ELISA test for diagnosing tapeworm burden in horses.

    PubMed

    Lightbody, Kirsty L; Davis, Paul J; Austin, Corrine J

    2016-06-01

    Tapeworm infections pose a significant threat to equine health as they are associated with clinical cases of colic. Diagnosis of tapeworm burden using fecal egg counts (FECs) is unreliable, and, although a commercial serologic ELISA for anti-tapeworm antibodies is available, it requires a veterinarian to collect the blood sample. A reliable diagnostic test using an owner-accessible sample such as saliva could provide a cost-effective alternative for tapeworm testing in horses, and allow targeted deworming strategies. The purpose of the study was to statistically validate a saliva tapeworm ELISA test and compare to a tapeworm-specific IgG(T) serologic ELISA. Serum samples (139) and matched saliva samples (104) were collected from horses at a UK abattoir. The ileocecal junction and cecum were visually examined for tapeworms and any present were counted. Samples were analyzed using a serologic ELISA and the saliva tapeworm test. The test results were compared to tapeworm numbers and the various data sets were statistically analyzed. Saliva scores had strong positive correlations with both infection intensity (0.74) and serologic results (Spearman's rank coefficients; 0.74 and 0.86, respectively). The saliva tapeworm test was capable of identifying the presence of one or more tapeworms with 83% sensitivity and 85% specificity. Importantly, no high-burden (more than 20 tapeworms) horses were misdiagnosed. The saliva tapeworm test has statistical accuracy for detecting tapeworm burdens in horses with 83% sensitivity and 85% specificity, similar to those of the serologic ELISA (85% and 78%, respectively). © 2016 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

  17. Detection of Francisella tularensis-Specific Antibodies in Patients with Tularemia by a Novel Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

    PubMed Central

    Sharma, Neekun; Hotta, Akitoyo; Yamamoto, Yoshie; Fujita, Osamu; Uda, Akihiko; Morikawa, Shigeru; Yamada, Akio

    2013-01-01

    A novel competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) was developed and evaluated for detection of antibodies against Francisella tularensis in humans. The assay is based on the ability of serum antibodies to inhibit the binding of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against F. tularensis lipopolysaccharide antigens. The assay was evaluated using serum samples of tularemia patients, inactivated F. tularensis-immunized rabbits, and F. tularensis-infected mice. Antibodies against F. tularensis were successfully detected in serum samples of tularemia patients as well as the immunized and infected animals. The cELISA method was compared to indirect ELISA (iELISA) and the commonly used microagglutination test (MA) using serum samples of 19 tularemia patients and 50 healthy individuals. The sensitivity and specificity of cELISA were 93.9 and 96.1%, respectively, in comparison to the iELISA. MA was less sensitive than cELISA with a sensitivity and specificity of only 81.8 and 98.0%, respectively. A high degree of correlation (R2 = 0.8226) was observed between cELISA and iELISA results. The novel cELISA developed in this study appears to be highly sensitive and specific for serodiagnosis of human tularemia. The potential of the MAb-based cELISA to be used in both human and animal samples emphasizes its usefulness for serological survey of tularemia among multiple animal species. PMID:23114700

  18. Diagnostic Accuracy of Antigen 5-Based ELISAs for Human Cystic Echinococcosis

    PubMed Central

    Pagnozzi, Daniela; Addis, Maria Filippa; Biosa, Grazia; Roggio, Anna Maria; Tedde, Vittorio; Mariconti, Mara; Tamarozzi, Francesca; Meroni, Valeria; Masu, Gabriella; Masala, Giovanna; Brunetti, Enrico; Uzzau, Sergio

    2016-01-01

    Background Clinical diagnosis and follow up of cystic echinococcosis (CE) are based on imaging complemented by serology. Several immunodiagnostic tests are commercially available, but the development of new tools is still needed to overcome the lack of standardization of the target antigen, generally consisting of a crude extract of Echinococcus granulosus hydatid cyst fluid. In a previous work, we described a chromatographic method for the preparation of a highly enriched Antigen 5 fraction from hydatid cyst fluid. The high reactivity of patient sera against this preparation prompted us to evaluate further this antigen for the serodiagnosis of CE on a larger cohort of samples. Methodology/Principal Findings A total of 327 sera from CE patients with heterogeneous conditions for cyst stage, cyst number, organ localization, drug therapy, and surgical intervention, together with 253 sera from healthy controls, were first analyzed by an ELISA based on the Ag5 preparation in two different experimental setups and, in parallel, by a commercial ELISA routinely used in clinical laboratories for CE serodiagnosis. The Ag5 ELISAs revealed different sensitivity (88.3% vs 95.3%) without significant differences in specificity (94.1% vs 92.5%), for the two setups, respectively. Moreover, possible relationships between the Ag5 ELISA absorbance results and clinical variables were investigated. Chi squared test, bivariate logistic regression and multiple regression analyses highlighted differences in the serology reactivity according to pharmacological treatment, cyst activity, and cyst number. Conclusions/Significance The two Ag5 ELISAs revealed different performances depending on the setup. The good diagnostic sensitivity and the high reliability of the Ag5 preparation method make this antigen a promising candidate for the serodiagnosis of CE. Further studies will be needed to evaluate the ability of our test to provide useful information on specific CE clinical traits. PMID:27023205

  19. Development of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test for detecting antibodies to chicken astrovirus in chicken sera.

    PubMed

    Skibinska, A; Lee, A; Wylie, M; Smyth, V J; Welsh, M D; Todd, D

    2015-01-01

    The development of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serological diagnosis of Group B chicken astrovirus (CAstV) infections is described. The test was based on the use of an affinity-purified capsid antigen, specific to CAstV isolate 11672, produced as a glutathione-S-transferase N-terminal fusion protein by a recombinant baculovirus. Strongly positive ELISA signals were elicited against experimentally produced antisera raised to CAstVs from Group B (subgroups i and ii) but were negative for antisera raised to a Group A CAstV. Using a panel of 240 selected serum samples, 99% agreement was observed when the results obtained by ELISA were compared to those from an indirect immunofluorescence test for CAstV 11672. The ELISA test was applied to 68 serum sets comprising 1864 samples, which were obtained from parent and grandparent flocks originating mainly in the UK. Of the 52 sets containing ELISA-positive samples, 24 sets had >75% samples positive and nine sets had <25% samples positive and were regarded as having high and low seropositivities, respectively. Of the 1864 serum samples tested 1090 (58.5%) were ELISA positive and of these, 234 sera (21.5%) produced strongly positive signals, whereas moderately positive and weakly positive signals were produced by 562 (51.5%) and 294 (27%) sera. When used for flock screening purposes, this ELISA test can be used to (i) investigate the occurrence of first-time CAstV infections of parent flocks during lay and the possible adverse effects caused by vertically transmitted CAstV infections on broiler hatchability and performance and (ii) diagnose Group B CAstV infections within specific pathogen free flocks.

  20. Competitive and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for Mycobacterium bovis infections based on MPB70 and lipoarabinomannan antigens.

    PubMed Central

    Sugden, E A; Stilwell, K; Rohonczy, E B; Martineau, P

    1997-01-01

    A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA) using M. bovis BCG Tokyo culture filtrate as antigen and anti-MPB70 4C3/17 monoclonal antibody was developed for use in multiple animal species. An analysis of the C-ELISA data for cattle and bison serum panels revealed specificities of 68% to 85% and sensitivities of 85% to 89%. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) of this data revealed areas of 81% to 92% for C-ELISA and demonstrated that C-ELISA as well as the indirect ELISA protocols, MPB70-ELISA and LAM-ELISA, discriminate M. bovis infected animals from non-infected animals for these particular panels. The kappa statistic values for agreement beyond chance between C-ELISA and MPB70-ELISA were determined after ELISA cutoffs were adjusted to minimize false positives. There were poor to excellent agreements between C-ELISA and MPB70-ELISA in all species tested (Bovidae, Cervidae, and Camelidae) that were consistently higher than the kappa statistic between C-ELISA and LAM-ELISA. The humoral response to one antigen and little or no response to the other in many animals argued for a parallel interpretation of C-ELISA and LAM-ELISA to increase sensitivity. PMID:9008794

  1. Evaluation of Five Antibody Detection Tests for Diagnosis of Bovine Paratuberculosis

    PubMed Central

    Collins, Michael T.; Wells, Scott J.; Petrini, Kristine R.; Collins, James E.; Schultz, Ronald D.; Whitlock, Robert H.

    2005-01-01

    Five diagnostic tests based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technology for bovine paratuberculosis were evaluated by using individual serum or milk samples from 359 dairy cattle in seven paratuberculosis-free herds and 2,094 dairy cattle in seven Mycobacterium paratuberculosis-infected dairy herds. Three independent laboratories using three different culture procedures completed fecal cultures for M. paratuberculosis on these cattle and found 417 cows to be shedding M. paratuberculosis in their feces. An animal that was fecal culture positive for M. paratuberculosis by any of the three laboratories was considered a confirmed case of infection. The specificity of three ELISAs (two on serum and one on milk) was ≥99.8%. The specificity of the remaining two ELISAs, both done on serum, was 94.9 and 84.7%. Four of the five ELISAs evaluated produced similar sensitivity in detecting fecal culture-positive cattle (27.8 to 28.9%). Serum ELISA “D” had the lowest specificity (84.7%) and the highest sensitivity (44.5%), but if the cutoff value defining a positive test was changed from 125 to 250% (of the positive control) the sensitivity and specificity, 31.8 and 97.5%, respectively, were comparable to those of the other four assays. If the case definition for M. paratuberculosis infection was based on the culture results of a single laboratory instead of the combined results of three laboratories, ELISA sensitivity estimates were 45.7 to 50.0%. With the exception of ELISA D, assay agreement was high (kappa 0.66 to 0.85) for categorical assay interpretations (positive or negative), but linear regression of quantitative results showed low correlation coefficients (r2 = 0.40 to 0.68) due to the fact that ELISA results for some cows were high in one assay but low in another assay. Likelihood ratio analysis showed a direct relationship between the magnitude of ELISA result and the odds of a cow shedding M. paratuberculosis in its feces. If used judiciously and interpreted quantitatively, these ELISAs are useful tools in support of paratuberculosis control programs in dairy herds. PMID:15939741

  2. Performance of microscopy and ELISA for diagnosing Giardia duodenalis infection in different pediatric groups.

    PubMed

    Silva, Renata K N R; Pacheco, Flávia T F; Martins, Adson S; Menezes, Joelma F; Costa-Ribeiro, Hugo; Ribeiro, Tereza C M; Mattos, Ângela P; Oliveira, Ricardo R; Soares, Neci M; Teixeira, Márcia C A

    2016-12-01

    Techniques for Giardia diagnosis based on microscopy are usually applied as routine laboratory testing; however, they typically exhibit low sensitivity. This study aimed to evaluate Giardia duodenalis and other intestinal parasitic infections in different pediatric groups, with an emphasis on the comparison of Giardia diagnostic techniques. Feces from 824 children from different groups (diarrheic, malnourished, with cancer and from day care) were examined by microscopy and ELISA for Giardia, Cryptosporidium sp. and Entamoeba histolytica coproantigen detection. Giardia-positive samples from day-care children, identified by either microscopy or ELISA, were further tested by PCR targeting of the β-giardin and Gdh genes. Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) were observed when comparing the frequency of each protozoan among the groups. Giardia duodenalis was more frequent in day-care children and Cryptosporidium sp. in diarrheic and malnourished groups; infections by Entamoeba histolytica were found only in children with diarrhea. Considering positivity for Giardia by at least one method, ELISA was found to be more sensitive than microscopy (97% versus 55%). To examine discrepancies among the diagnostic methods, 71 Giardia-positive stool samples from day-care children were tested by PCR; of these, DNA was amplified from 51 samples (77.4%). Concordance of positivity between microscopy and ELISA was found for 48 samples, with 43 confirmed by PCR. Parasite DNA was amplified from eleven of the 20 Giardia samples (55%) identified only by ELISA. This study shows the higher sensitivity of ELISA over microscopy for Giardia diagnosis when a single sample is analyzed and emphasizes the need for methods based on coproantigen detection to identify this parasite in diarrheic fecal samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Detection of liver kidney microsomal type 1 antibody using molecularly based immunoassays

    PubMed Central

    Kerkar, N; Ma, Y; Davies, E T; Cheeseman, P; Mieli-Vergani, G; Vergani, D

    2002-01-01

    Aims: To assess the diagnostic value of two commercial molecularly based immunoassays detecting liver kidney microsomal type 1 antibody (LKM1). Methods: The performance of Varelisa and LKM1 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with immunofluorescence, and two validated research techniques—an in house ELISA and a radioligand assay measuring antibodies to P4502D6. Thirty serum samples from three patients with autoimmune hepatitis type 2 covering immunofluorescence titres of 1/10 to 1/10 240 and 55 LKM1 negative controls were tested. Results: All 30 sera that were LKM1 positive by immunofluorescence were positive by the in house ELISA, the radioligand assay, and LKM1-ELISA, and 29 were also positive by Varelisa. None of the 55 sera negative for LKM1 by immunofluorescence was positive by the in house ELISA and radioligand assay, but one was positive by Varelisa and 14 were positive using the LKM1-ELISA. Agreement between immunofluorescence, the in house ELISA, the radioligand assay, and Varelisa was high (κ > 0.8), and agreement between immunofluorescence and LKM1-ELISA was moderate (κ = 0.63). Conclusion: The assay kit marketed as Varelisa allows accurate detection of LKM1. PMID:12461054

  4. Detection of liver kidney microsomal type 1 antibody using molecularly based immunoassays.

    PubMed

    Kerkar, N; Ma, Y; Davies, E T; Cheeseman, P; Mieli-Vergani, G; Vergani, D

    2002-12-01

    To assess the diagnostic value of two commercial molecularly based immunoassays detecting liver kidney microsomal type 1 antibody (LKM1). The performance of Varelisa and LKM1 enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with immunofluorescence, and two validated research techniques-an in house ELISA and a radioligand assay measuring antibodies to P4502D6. Thirty serum samples from three patients with autoimmune hepatitis type 2 covering immunofluorescence titres of 1/10 to 1/10 240 and 55 LKM1 negative controls were tested. All 30 sera that were LKM1 positive by immunofluorescence were positive by the in house ELISA, the radioligand assay, and LKM1-ELISA, and 29 were also positive by Varelisa. None of the 55 sera negative for LKM1 by immunofluorescence was positive by the in house ELISA and radioligand assay, but one was positive by Varelisa and 14 were positive using the LKM1-ELISA. Agreement between immunofluorescence, the in house ELISA, the radioligand assay, and Varelisa was high (kappa > 0.8), and agreement between immunofluorescence and LKM1-ELISA was moderate (kappa = 0.63). The assay kit marketed as Varelisa allows accurate detection of LKM1.

  5. Comparison of a novel chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the determination of MPO-ANCA in patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis.

    PubMed

    Hirose, Orie; Itabashi, Mitsuyo; Takei, Takashi; Nitta, Kosaku

    2015-03-01

    Myeloperoxidase (MPO) anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) represents the serological hallmark of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). We evaluated the analytical and diagnostic accuracy of chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) versus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of MPO-ANCA. A total of 242 sera obtained from 51 patients with AAV and 103 patients without AAV were tested for MPO-ANCA by ELISA (NephroScholor MPOANC II) and CLEIA (the STACIA MEBLux test). Disease activity in the patients with AAV was determined based on the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score. We analyzed the correlations between the MPO-ANCA titers determined by the CLEIA and those determined by the ELISA, and also between the MPO-ANCA titers and the disease activity. The MPO-ANCA titers determined by the CLEIA (x) were strongly correlated with those determined by the ELISA (y). The correlation could be expressed by the following equation in this study: y = 1.8x + 7.7 (r = 0.96; p < 0.0001). At the cutoff value of 3.5 U/ml, the CLEIA yielded positive test results for MPO-ANCA in 73 of the 242 sera (30.2%), while at the cutoff value of 20 U/ml, ELISA yielded positive test results in 57 of the 242 sera (23.6%). The CLEIA yielded false-positive test results in 4 of the 120 sera obtained from the non-AAV patients (3.3%), whereas the ELISA yielded a false-positive result in only 1 of the 120 sera obtained from the non-AAV patients (0.8%). The sensitivity and specificity of the CLEIA for the diagnosis of AAV were 100% and 96.7%, respectively, while those of the ELISA were 94.3% and 99.2%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the CLEIA for the prediction of active disease were 100% and 64.4%, respectively, while those of the ELISA were 94.3% and 73.6%, respectively. The false positivity rate of the CLEIA for MPO-ANCA tended to be high as compared with that of the ELISA. Also, according to the correlation coefficient between the results of the CLEIA and the ELISA calculated in this study, it is necessary to pay attention to the differences in the sensitivity and specificity between CLEIA and ELISA.

  6. Mobile phone based ELISA (MELISA).

    PubMed

    Zhdanov, Arsenii; Keefe, Jordan; Franco-Waite, Luis; Konnaiyan, Karthik Raj; Pyayt, Anna

    2018-04-30

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is one of the most important technologies for biochemical analysis critical for diagnosis and monitoring of many diseases. Traditional systems for ELISA incubation and reading are expensive and bulky, thus cannot be used at point-of-care or in the field. Here, we propose and demonstrate a new miniature mobile phone based system for ELISA (MELISA). This system can be used to complete all steps of the assay, including incubation and reading. It weighs just 1 pound, can be fabricated at low cost, portable, and can transfer test results via mobile phone. We successfully demonstrated how MELISA can be calibrated for accurate measurements of progesterone and demonstrated successful measurements with the calibrated system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Evaluation of a serological test (indirect ELISA) for the diagnosis of sarcoptic mange in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes).

    PubMed

    Bornstein, Set; Frössling, Jenny; Näslund, Katarina; Zakrisson, Göran; Mörner, Torsten

    2006-12-01

    Sarcoptic mange occurs in many parts of the world and is common in populations of domestic and wild canids, including red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). In recent years, an indirect antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), with higher sensitivity and specificity than traditional diagnostic methods, has been successfully applied in the diagnosis of sarcoptic mange in dogs. The same ELISA has also demonstrated specific antibodies to Sarcoptes scabiei in experimentally infected red foxes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the indirect ELISA when used to detect antibodies to S. scabiei in field sera from Swedish red foxes. One cohort of both infected and non-infected red foxes (cohort 1; n = 88), and one cohort of apparently non-infected foxes (cohort 2; n = 67) were examined for skin lesions and presence of S. scabiei by thorough visual examination at autopsy and skin scrapings. Samples of blood-tinted body liquid from the abdomen or thorax cavity were collected and analysed by the indirect ELISA. The relative sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA at different cut-offs (OD values) were estimated by comparing the test results to the infection status as determined by examination and skin scrapings. The highest combination of relative sensitivity and specificity, calculated based on cohort 1, was 95.4 and 100.0%, respectively. These estimates were constant for cut-offs 0.150-0.225, which included the cut-off based on the mean plus three standard deviations of test results from cohort 2 (0.165). It is concluded that this test can be useful in diagnosis and epidemiological studies of S. scabiei infection in red foxes.

  8. Development of an Indirect ELISA Based on a Recombinant Chimeric Protein for the Detection of Antibodies against Bovine Babesiosis

    PubMed Central

    Jaramillo Ortiz, José Manuel; Montenegro, Valeria Noely; de la Fournière, Sofía Ana María; Sarmiento, Néstor Fabián; Farber, Marisa Diana; Wilkowsky, Silvina Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    The current method for Babesia spp. serodiagnosis based on a crude merozoite antigen is a complex and time-consuming procedure. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) based on a recombinant multi-antigen of Babesia bovis (rMABbO) was developed for detection of antibodies in bovines suspected of infection with this parasite. The multi-antigen comprises gene fragments of three previously characterized B. bovis antigens: MSA-2c, RAP-1 and the Heat Shock protein 20 that are well-conserved among geographically distant strains. The cutoff value for the new rMABbo-iELISA was determined using 75 known—positive and 300 known—negative bovine sera previously tested for antibodies to B. bovis by the gold-standard ELISA which uses a merozoite lysate. A cutoff value of ≥35% was determined in these samples by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, showing a sensitivity of 95.9% and a specificity of 94.3%. The rMABbo-iELISA was further tested in a blind trial using an additional set of 263 field bovine sera from enzootic and tick-free regions of Argentina. Results showed a good agreement with the gold standard test with a Cohen’s kappa value of 0.76. Finally, the prevalence of bovine babesiosis in different tick enzootic regions of Argentina was analyzed where seropositivity values among 68–80% were obtained. A certain level of cross reaction was observed when samples from B. bigemina infected cattle were analyzed with the new test, which can be attributed to shared epitopes between 2 of the 3 antigens. This new rMABbo-iELISA could be considered a simpler alternative to detect anti Babesia spp. antibodies and appears to be well suited to perform epidemiological surveys at the herd level in regions where ticks are present. PMID:29360801

  9. Development of an Indirect ELISA Based on a Recombinant Chimeric Protein for the Detection of Antibodies against Bovine Babesiosis.

    PubMed

    Jaramillo Ortiz, José Manuel; Montenegro, Valeria Noely; de la Fournière, Sofía Ana María; Sarmiento, Néstor Fabián; Farber, Marisa Diana; Wilkowsky, Silvina Elizabeth

    2018-01-23

    The current method for Babesia spp. serodiagnosis based on a crude merozoite antigen is a complex and time-consuming procedure. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) based on a recombinant multi-antigen of Babesia bovis (rMABbO) was developed for detection of antibodies in bovines suspected of infection with this parasite. The multi-antigen comprises gene fragments of three previously characterized B. bovis antigens: MSA-2c, RAP-1 and the Heat Shock protein 20 that are well-conserved among geographically distant strains. The cutoff value for the new rMABbo-iELISA was determined using 75 known-positive and 300 known-negative bovine sera previously tested for antibodies to B. bovis by the gold-standard ELISA which uses a merozoite lysate. A cutoff value of ≥35% was determined in these samples by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, showing a sensitivity of 95.9% and a specificity of 94.3%. The rMABbo-iELISA was further tested in a blind trial using an additional set of 263 field bovine sera from enzootic and tick-free regions of Argentina. Results showed a good agreement with the gold standard test with a Cohen's kappa value of 0.76. Finally, the prevalence of bovine babesiosis in different tick enzootic regions of Argentina was analyzed where seropositivity values among 68-80% were obtained. A certain level of cross reaction was observed when samples from B. bigemina infected cattle were analyzed with the new test, which can be attributed to shared epitopes between 2 of the 3 antigens. This new rMABbo-iELISA could be considered a simpler alternative to detect anti Babesia spp. antibodies and appears to be well suited to perform epidemiological surveys at the herd level in regions where ticks are present.

  10. Simultaneous detection of antibodies to five Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovars using bead-based multiplex analysis.

    PubMed

    Berger, Sanne Schou; Lauritsen, Klara Tølbøll; Boas, Ulrik; Lind, Peter; Andresen, Lars Ole

    2017-11-01

    We developed and made a preliminary validation of a bead-based multiplexed immunoassay for simultaneous detection of porcine serum antibodies to Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serovars 1, 2, 6, 7, and 12. Magnetic fluorescent beads were coupled with A. pleuropneumoniae antigens and tested with a panel of serum samples from experimentally infected pigs and with serum samples from uninfected and naturally infected pigs. The multiplex assay was compared to in-house ELISAs and complement fixation (CF) tests, which have been used for decades as tools for herd classification in the Danish Specific Pathogen Free system. Assay specificities and sensitivities as well as the corresponding cutoff values were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and the A. pleuropneumoniae multiplex assay showed good correlation with the in-house ELISAs and CF tests with areas under ROC curves ≥ 0.988. Benefits of multiplexed assays compared to ELISAs and CF tests include reduced serum sample volumes needed for analysis, less labor, and shorter assay time.

  11. Evaluation of a Rapid Fecal PCR Test for Detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Dairy Cattle▿

    PubMed Central

    Wells, Scott J.; Collins, Michael T.; Faaberg, Kay S.; Wees, Carrie; Tavornpanich, Saraya; Petrini, Kristine R.; Collins, James E.; Cernicchiaro, Natalia; Whitlock, Robert H.

    2006-01-01

    A high-throughput TaqMan PCR assay for detection of bovine paratuberculosis was evaluated by using fecal samples from 1,808 dairy cattle in seven naturally infected herds and 347 dairy cattle in seven herds considered free of paratuberculosis. Fecal, blood, and milk samples were submitted to laboratories where the PCR-based assay, three different fecal culture procedures for Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (centrifugation, sedimentation, and the BACTEC filter concentration method), two serologic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), and one milk ELISA were performed. Results from testing of dairy cattle in herds free of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis showed that the PCR assay's specificity was 99.7%. Twenty-three percent of the dairy cows that were fecal culture positive by at least one of the three methods were positive by the PCR assay. By Bayesian non-“gold standard” analysis methods, the TaqMan PCR assay had a higher specificity than the serum ELISAs (99.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 98.6 to 99.7%) and a test sensitivity similar to that of the serum ELISAs (29%; 95% CI = 24 to 35%). By classical methods, the estimated relative sensitivity of the fecal PCR assay was 4% for light and moderate fecal shedders (compared to 12 to 13% for the ELISAs) and 76% for heavy fecal shedders (compared to 67% for the milk ELISA). The PCR assay has higher sensitivity for detection of heavy fecal shedders than the evaluated milk ELISA but lower sensitivity than a serum or milk ELISA for detection of light and moderate fecal shedders. This assay can be used as a quick test for detection of cattle with heavy fecal shedding, those cattle with the highest risk of transmitting infection to susceptible cattle. PMID:16928884

  12. A novel chemiluminescent immunoassay based on original acridinium ester labels as better solution for diagnosis of human toxoplasmosis than conventional ELISA test.

    PubMed

    Holec-Gąsior, Lucyna; Ferra, Bartłomiej; Czechowska, Justyna; Serdiuk, Illia E; Krzymiński, Karol

    2018-05-01

    Toxoplasma gondii infection is one of the most common human zoonosis. Laboratory diagnosis of this disease is mainly based on the results of serological methods detecting specific antibodies in the patient's sera. In this study we aimed to evaluate the performance of a chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) based on the use of a novel immunochemical reagent in the form of the conjugate of original acridinium label (AL) attached to secondary antibody (IgG-AL) and SAG2-GRA1-ROP1 L chimeric antigen for T. gondii specific antibodies detection. The CLIA test was compared with conventional ELISA, which was based on the same recombinant antigen and differed only in terms of the detection methodology of immune complexes. The new CLIA assay proved to be more sensitive and better differentiated sera of patients with T. gondii infection from sera of healthy individuals, being a promising alternative to more labor, cost-demanding and less versatile ELISA as screening test in toxoplasmosis diagnostics. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Is there a risk of filarial infection during long-term missions in Haiti?

    PubMed

    Weitzel, Thomas; Rosas, Reinaldo; Fica, Alberto; Dabanch, Jeannette; Polanco, Myriam; Egaña, Alicia; Triantafilo, Vjera; Pfarr, Kenneth; Hoerauf, Achim; Reiter-Owona, Ingrid

    2016-01-01

    Haiti has the highest prevalence of lymphatic filariasis (Wuchereria bancrofti) in the Western Hemisphere. Still, the risk of filarial infection for long-term visitors such as humanitarian aid workers or military personnel is uncertain. The presented study analyzed the exposure to W. bancrofti in Chilean participants of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2011. Blood samples collected from 531 participants were screened for antifilarial antibodies by IgG ELISA, and, if positive, analyzed by immunofluorescence assay (IFA), IgG4 ELISA, Real-Time PCR, and circulating filarial antigen (CFA) card test. ELISA screening was positive in 10 cases. Seroconversion occurred in only two cases (0.38%) based on ELISA values determined in samples taken before and after deployment. Positive IgG ELISA values could not be confirmed by IFA and IgG4 ELISA. Real-Time PCR and CFA testing did not reveal the presence of filaria. Our data indicate that in the examined cohort of MINUSTAH participants in 2011, the risk of filarial exposure or infection was low. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Prevalence and distribution of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease) in cattle herds in Ireland

    PubMed Central

    2009-01-01

    A simple random survey was conducted in Ireland during 2005 to estimate the ELISA-prevalence of paratuberculosis, commonly called Johne's disease (JD), in the cattle population. Serum samples were collected from all 20,322 females/breeding bulls over 12 months-of-age in 639 herds. All samples were tested using a commercially available absorbed ELISA. The overall prevalence of infected herds, based on the presence of at least one ELISA-positive animal, was 21.4% (95% CI 18.4%-24.9%). Herd prevalence levels amongst dairy herds (mean 31.5%; 95% CI: 24.6%, 39.3%) was higher than among beef herds (mean 17.9%; 95% CI: 14.6%-21.8%). However, the animal level prevalence was similar. The true prevalence among all animals tested, was calculated to be 2.86% (95%CI: 2.76, 2.97) and for animals >= 2 yrs, it was 3.30% (95%CI: 3.17, 3.43). For animals in beef herds, true prevalence was 3.09% (95%CI: 2.93, 3.24), and for those in dairy herds, 2.74% (95%CI: 2.59, 2.90). The majority of herds had only one ELISA-positive infected animal. Only 6.4% (95% CI 4.7%-8.7%) of all herds had more than one ELISA-positive infected animal; 13.3% (CI 8.7%-19.7%) of dairy herds ranging from two to eight ELISA-positive infected animals; and, 3.9% beef herds (CI 2.4%-6.2%) ranging from two to five ELISA-positive infected animals. The true prevalence of herds infected and shedding Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis is estimated to be 9.5% for all herd types; 20.6% for dairy herds; and 7.6% for beef herds. If ELISA positive animals <2-years-of-age are excluded, the true herd prevalene reduces to: 9.3% for all herd types; 19.6% for dairy herds; and 6.3% for beef herds based on a test specificity (Sp) of 99.8% and test sensitivity (Se) (i.e., ability to detect culture-positive, infected animals shedding at any level) of 27.8-28.9%. PMID:21851740

  15. Comparison of different commercial ELISAs for detection of antibodies against porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus in serum.

    PubMed

    Sattler, Tatjana; Wodak, Eveline; Revilla-Fernández, Sandra; Schmoll, Friedrich

    2014-12-18

    In recent years, several new ELISAs for the detection of antibodies against the porcine reproductive and respiratory disease virus (PRRSV) in pig serum have been developed. To interpret the results, specificity and sensitivity data as well as agreement to a reference ELISA must be available. In this study, three commercial ELISAs (INgezim PRRS 2.0 - ELISA II, Priocheck® PRRSV Ab porcine - ELISA III and CIVTEST suis PRRS E/S PLUS - ELISA IV, detecting PRRSV type 1 antibodies) were compared to a standard ELISA (IDEXX PRRS X3 Ab Test - ELISA I). The serum of three pigs vaccinated with an attenuated PRRSV live vaccine (genotype 2) was tested prior to and several times after the vaccination. Furthermore, serum samples of 245 pigs of PRRSV positive herds, 309 pigs of monitored PRRSV negative herds, 256 fatteners of assumed PRRSV negative herds with unknown herd history and 92 wild boars were tested with all four ELISAs. ELISAs II and III were able to detect seroconversion of vaccinated pigs with a similar reliability. According to kappa coefficient, the results showed an almost perfect agreement between ELISA I as reference and ELISA II and III (kappa > 0.8), and substantial agreement between ELISA I and ELISA IV (kappa = 0.71). Sensitivity of ELISA II, III and IV was 96.0%, 100% and 91.5%, respectively. The specificity of the ELISAs determined in samples of monitored PRRSV negative herds was 99.0%, 95.1% and 96.4%, respectively. In assumed negative farms that were not continually monitored, more positive samples were found with ELISA II to IV. The reference ELISA I had a specificity of 100% in this study. All tested ELISAs were able to detect a PRRSV positive herd. The specificity and sensitivity of the tested commercial ELISAs, however, differed. ELISA II had the highest specificity and ELISA III had the highest sensitivity in comparison to the reference ELISA. ELISA IV had a lower sensitivity and specificity than the other ELISAs.

  16. ELISA test for anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies detection evaluated by a computer screen photo-assisted technique.

    PubMed

    Filippini, D; Tejle, K; Lundström, I

    2005-08-15

    The computer screen photo-assisted technique (CSPT), a method for substance classification based on spectral fingerprinting, which involves just a computer screen and a web camera as measuring platform is used here for the evaluation of a prospective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA-ELISA) test, typically used for diagnosing patients suffering from chronic inflammatory disorders in the skin, joints, blood vessels and other tissues is comparatively tested with a standard microplate reader and CSPT, yielding equivalent results at a fraction of the instrumental costs. The CSPT approach is discussed as a distributed measuring platform allowing decentralized measurements in routine applications, whereas keeping centralized information management due to its natural network embedded operation.

  17. Improved detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection using real-time PCR and indirect ELISA.

    PubMed

    Jefferies, Ryan; Morgan, Eric R; Helm, Jenny; Robinson, Matthew; Shaw, Susan E

    2011-12-01

    This study reports the development of a real-time PCR assay and an indirect ELISA to improve on current detection of canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection. A highly specific fluorescent probe-based, real-time PCR assay was developed to target the A. vasorum second internal transcribed spacer region and detected DNA in EDTA blood, lung tissue, broncho-alveolar larvage fluid, endotracheal mucus, pharyngeal swabs and faecal samples. PCR was fast (∼1 h), highly efficient when using EDTA blood samples, consistently detected a single molecule of parasite DNA and did not amplify DNA from other parasitic nematodes or definitive host species. An indirect ELISA was also developed using the soluble protein fraction from adult A. vasorum worms. Some cross-reactive antigen recognition was observed when tested against sera from dogs infected with Crenosoma vulpis (n = 8), Toxocara canis (n = 5) and Dirofilaria immitis (n = 5). This was largely overcome by setting the cut-off for a positive result at an appropriately high level. Field evaluation of the real-time PCR and ELISA was conducted by testing sera and EDTA blood from dogs with suspected A. vasorum infection (n = 148) and compared with the Baermann's larval migration test in faeces. Thirty-one dogs were positive by at least one test. Of these, 20 (65%) were detected by the Baermann method, 18 (58%) by blood PCR, 24 (77%) by ELISA and 28 (90%) by blood PCR and ELISA together. Combined testing using real-time PCR and ELISA therefore improved the detection rate of A. vasorum infection and holds promise for improved clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation.

  18. Food allergen analysis for processed food using a novel extraction method to eliminate harmful reagents for both ELISA and lateral-flow tests.

    PubMed

    Ito, Kaori; Yamamoto, Takayuki; Oyama, Yuriko; Tsuruma, Rieko; Saito, Eriko; Saito, Yoshikazu; Ozu, Takeshi; Honjoh, Tsutomu; Adachi, Reiko; Sakai, Shinobu; Akiyama, Hiroshi; Shoji, Masahiro

    2016-09-01

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is commonly used to determine food allergens in food products. However, a significant number of ELISAs give an erroneous result, especially when applied to highly processed food. Accordingly, an improved ELISA, which utilizes an extraction solution comprising the surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate (SDS) and reductant 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME), has been specially developed to analyze food allergens in highly processed food by enhancing analyte protein extraction. Recently, however, the use of 2-ME has become undesirable. In the present study, a new extraction solution containing a human- and eco-friendly reductant, which is convenient to use at the food manufacturing site, has been established. Among three chemicals with different reducing properties, sodium sulfite, tris(3-hydroxypropyl)phosphine, and mercaptoethylamine sodium sulfite was selected as a 2-ME substitute. The protein extraction ability of SDS/0.1 M sodium sulfite solution was comparable to that of SDS/2-ME solution. Next, the ELISA performance for egg, milk, wheat, peanut, and buckwheat was evaluated by using model-processed foods and commercially available food products. The data showed that the SDS/0.1 M sulfite ELISA significantly correlated with the SDS/2-ME ELISA for all food allergens examined (p < 0.01), thereby establishing the validity of the SDS/0.1 M sulfite ELISA performance. Furthermore, the new SDS/0.1 M sulfite solution was investigated for its applicability to the lateral-flow (LF) test. The result demonstrated the successful analysis of food allergens in processed food, showing consistency with the SDS/0.1 M sulfite ELISA results. Accordingly, a harmonized analysis system for processed food comprising a screening LF test and a quantitative ELISA with identical extraction solution has been established. The ELISA based on the SDS/0.1 M sulfite extraction solution has now been authorized as the revised official method for food allergen analysis in Japan.

  19. Development and evaluation of an avian influenza (AI) neuraminidase subtype 1 (N1) based serological ELISA for poultry using the differentiation of infected and vaccinated animals (DIVA)approach

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using baculovirus expressed N1 protein from the A/CK/Indonesia/PA/2003 (H5N1) virus. The specificity of the assay was tested with a panel of chicken anti-sera raised against N1 to N9 virus subtypes. The N1-ELISA was specific for t...

  20. Detection of HIV-1 p24 at Attomole Level by Ultrasensitive ELISA with Thio-NAD Cycling

    PubMed Central

    Nakatsuma, Akira; Kaneda, Mugiho; Kodama, Hiromi; Morikawa, Mika; Watabe, Satoshi; Nakaishi, Kazunari; Yamashita, Masakane; Yoshimura, Teruki; Miura, Toshiaki; Ninomiya, Masaki; Ito, Etsuro

    2015-01-01

    To reduce the window period between HIV-1 infection and the ability to diagnose it, a fourth-generation immunoassay including the detection of HIV-1 p24 antigen has been developed. However, because the commercially available systems for this assay use special, high-cost instruments to measure, for example, chemiluminescence, it is performed only by diagnostics companies and hub hospitals. To overcome this limitation, we applied an ultrasensitive ELISA coupled with a thio-NAD cycling, which is based on a usual enzyme immunoassay without special instruments, to detect HIV-1 p24. The p24 detection limit by our ultrasensitive ELISA was 0.0065 IU/assay (i.e., ca. 10-18 moles/assay). Because HIV-1 p24 antigen is thought to be present in the virion in much greater numbers than viral RNA copies, the value of 10-18 moles of the p24/assay corresponds to ca. 103 copies of the HIV-1 RNA/assay. That is, our ultrasensitive ELISA is chasing the detection limit (102 copies/assay) obtained by PCR-based nucleic acid testing (NAT) with a margin of only one different order. Further, the detection limit by our ultrasensitive ELISA is less than that mandated for a CE-marked HIV antigen/antibody assay. An additional recovery test using blood supported the reliability of our ultrasensitive ELISA. PMID:26098695

  1. Specificity of Toxocara ELISA in tropical populations.

    PubMed

    Lynch, N R; Wilkes, L K; Hodgen, A N; Turner, K J

    1988-05-01

    The diagnosis of human infection by Toxocara canis relies heavily upon serological tests, the specificity of which can be inadequate in regions of endemic helminthiasis. When different population groups of tropical Venezuela were evaluated using ELISA based upon Toxocara excretory-secretory antigen (TcESA), solid-phase adsorption of the sera with extracts of a wide variety of non-homologous parasites revealed the existence of significant cross-reactivity. This was effectively and conveniently overcome when the test sera were incubated in the presence of the soluble parasite extracts in a competitive inhibition ELISA. The mean reduction of ELISA values caused by pre-adsorption of the sera tested was 32.2%, and that caused by competitive inhibition was 42.3%, the effects of these two procedures being strongly correlated (r = 0.83). The magnitude of the reduction was inversely proportional to the actual ELISA value (r = -0.55), and ranged from a mean of 68.0% in sera from apparently healthy individuals of medium-high socio-economic level, down to 28.1% in heavily parasitized Amazon indians. Ascaris showed the greatest degree of cross-reactivity in these tests, although under conditions of competitive inhibition even sera with high levels of antibody against this parasite could be negative in Toxocara ELISA. Western blotting revealed a major 81,400 D component that was shared between Ascaris and TcESA. Our results indicate that the competitive inhibition of cross-reactivity by soluble non-homologous parasite extracts provides a convenient and economical means of increasing the specificity of ELISA for the determination of the seroprevalence of toxocariasis in tropical populations.

  2. rTES-30USM: cloning via assembly PCR, expression, and evaluation of usefulness in the detection of toxocariasis.

    PubMed

    Norhaida, A; Suharni, M; Liza Sharmini, A T; Tuda, J; Rahmah, N

    2008-03-01

    Currently, the laboratory diagnosis of toxocariasis, caused by Toxocara canis or T. cati, mainly relies on serological tests. Unfortunately, however, the specificities of most of the commercial tests that are available for the serodiagnosis of this disease are not very high and this may cause problems, especially in tropical countries where co-infections with other helminths are common. In an effort to develop a serological assay with improved specificity for the detection of Toxocara infection, an IgG(4)-ELISA based on a recombinant version (rTES-30USM) of the 30-kDa Toxocara excretory-secretory antigen (TES-30) has recently been developed. To produce the antigen, the TES-30 gene was cloned via assembly PCR, subcloned into a His-tagged prokaryotic expression vector, and purified by affinity chromatography using Ni(2+)-nitrilotriacetic-acid (Ni-NTA) resin. The performance of the ELISA based on the recombinant antigen was then compared with that of commercial kit, based on an IgG-ELISA, for the serodiagnosis of toxocariasis (Toxocara IgG-ELISA; Cypress Diagnostics, Langdorp, Belgium). Both assays were used to test 338 serum samples, including 26 samples from probable cases of toxocariasis. Assuming that all the probable cases were true cases, the assay based on rTES-30USM demonstrated a sensitivity of 92.3% (24/26) and a specificity of 89.6% (103/115) whereas the commercial kit exhibited a sensitivity of 100% (26/26) but a specificity of only 55.7% (64/115). The high sensitivity and specificity exhibited by the new IgG(4)-ELISA should make the assay a good choice for use in tropical countries and any other area where potentially cross-reactive helminthic infections are common.

  3. 75 FR 57200 - National Poultry Improvement Plan and Auxiliary Provisions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-20

    ... (ELISA) test to confirm the positive results of other serological tests. We are proposing to remove the ELISA test from this list. The ELISA test is a screening assay and should not be used to confirm... status is negative for Mycoplasma. We would amend this paragraph to include the ELISA and the official...

  4. Evaluation of test-strategies for estimating probability of low prevalence of paratuberculosis in Danish dairy herds.

    PubMed

    Sergeant, E S G; Nielsen, S S; Toft, N

    2008-06-15

    Paratuberculosis is a chronic infection affecting cattle and other ruminants. In the dairy industry, losses due to paratuberculosis can be substantial in infected herds and several countries have implemented national programmes based on herd-classification to manage the disease. The aim of this study was to develop a method to estimate the probability of low within-herd prevalence of paratuberculosis for Danish dairy herds. A stochastic simulation model was developed using the R programming environment. Features of this model included: use of age-specific estimates of test-sensitivity and specificity; use of a distribution of observed values (rather than a fixed, low value) for design prevalence; and estimates of the probability of low prevalence (PrLow) based on a specific number of test-positive animals, rather than for a result less than or equal to a specified cut-point number of reactors. Using this model, five herd-testing strategies were evaluated: (1) milk-ELISA on all lactating cows; (2) milk-ELISA on lactating cows4 years old; (4) faecal culture on all lactating cows; and (5) milk-ELISA plus faecal culture in series on all lactating cows. The five testing strategies were evaluated using observed milk-ELISA results from 19 Danish dairy herds as well as for simulated results from the same herds assuming that they were uninfected. Whole-herd milk-ELISA was the preferred strategy, and considered the most cost-effective strategy of the five alternatives. The five strategies were all efficient in detecting infection, i.e. estimating a low PrLow in infected herds, however, PrLow estimates for milk-ELISA on age-cohorts were too low in simulated uninfected herds and the strategies involving faecal culture were too expensive to be of practical interest. For simulated uninfected herds, whole-herd milk-ELISA resulted in median PrLow values>0.9 for most herds, depending on herd size and age-structure. None of the strategies provided enough power to establish a high PrLow in smaller herds, or herds with a younger age-structure. Despite this, it appears as if the method is a useful approach for herd-classification for most herds in the Danish dairy industry.

  5. Penicillinase-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of plant viruses.

    PubMed

    Sudarshana, M R; Reddy, D V

    1989-10-01

    A penicillinase (PNC)-based, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was standardized to detect maize mosaic virus (MMV) in sorghum leaf extracts, peanut mottle virus (PMV) in pea leaf extracts, and tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) in peanut leaf extracts. Rabbit Fc-specific antibodies were conjugated with PNC by a single step glutaraldehyde bridge. Among several indicators tested, bromothymol blue (BTB) was found suitable for measuring PNC activity under simulated conditions. Two reagents, starch-iodine complex (SIC) and a mixed pH indicator, containing bromocresol purple and BTB (2:1) used earlier for the PNC-based ELISA, were compared with BTB for utilization in the PNC-based ELISA. SIC gave a slightly higher virus titre than BTB or the mixed pH indicator, but it often gave nonspecific reactions. Sodium or potassium salts of penicillin-G at 0.5-1.0 mg/ml and BTB at 0.2 mg/ml were found to be suitable as substrate-indicator mixture for PNC-based ELISA. The sensitivity of the PNC system was comparable to those of the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) systems in detecting MMV, PMV, and TSWV. The PNC conjugate could be used at a greater dilution than those of the ALP and HRP conjugates and the BTB substrate mixture was stable for at least 3 weeks at 4 degrees C. Penicillin is readily available in developing countries, and at a substantially lower cost than p-nitrophenyl phosphate, the commonly used substrate for ALP in the plate ELISA. Thus the PNC-based ELISA provides a less expensive means for assaying plant viruses by ELISA.

  6. Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for serodiagnosis of ringworm infection in cattle.

    PubMed

    Bagut, Elena Tatiana; Cambier, Ludivine; Heinen, Marie-Pierre; Cozma, Vasile; Monod, Michel; Mignon, Bernard

    2013-08-01

    The aim of this study was to develop an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serological diagnosis of ringworm infection in cattle. We used available recombinant forms of Trichophyton rubrum dipeptidyl peptidase V (TruDppV) and T. rubrum leucin aminopeptidase 2 (TruLap2), which are 98% identical to Trichophyton verrucosum orthologues. Field serum samples from 135 cattle with ringworm infection, as confirmed by direct microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and PCR, and from 55 cattle without any apparent skin lesions or history of ringworm infection that served as negative controls were used. Sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values were determined to evaluate the diagnostic value of our ELISA. Overall, the ELISAs based on recombinant TruDppV and TruLap2 discriminated well between infected animals and healthy controls. Highly significant differences (P < 0.0001, Mann-Whitney U test) were noted between optical density values obtained when sera from infected versus control cattle were tested. The ELISA developed for the detection of specific antibodies against DppV gave 89.6% sensitivity, 92.7% specificity, a 96.8% positive predictive value, and a 78.4% negative predictive value. The recombinant TruLap2-based ELISA displayed 88.1% sensitivity, 90.9% specificity, a 95.9% positive predictive value, and a 75.7% negative predictive value. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ELISA based on recombinant antigens for assessing immune responses to ringworm infection in cattle; it is particularly suitable for epidemiological studies and also for the evaluation of vaccines and/or vaccination procedures.

  7. Development of a H2 O2 -sensitive quantum dots-based fluorescent sandwich ELISA for sensitive detection of bovine β-lactoglobulin by monoclonal antibody.

    PubMed

    He, Shengfa; Li, Xin; Gao, Jinyan; Tong, Ping; Chen, Hongbing

    2018-01-01

    Bovine β-lactoglobulin (BLG) is the major allergen in cows' milk, and the specific epitope plays a key role in food allergy. Developing a method specifically bind to the IgE epitope is necessary for testing BLG and its allergenic residues. The monoclonal antibody (1G9) specific to the IgE linear epitope for BLG was identified as high affinity and specificity. Based on 1G9, a sensitive fluorescent sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sELISA) was successfully developed using catalase-mediated fluorescence quenching of thiolated CdTe quantum dots in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as fluorescent signal output. The fluorescent sELISA showed high sensitivity and specificity, the limit of detection was 0.49 ng mL -1 , which was 16-fold lower than horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-based sELISA. The linear range for BLG detection were 125-4000 ng mL -1 (r = 0.9939) and 0.48-62.5 ng mL -1 (r = 0.9919). The recoveries and coefficients of variation were 94.25-109.83% and 4.38-20.29%, respectively. Allergenic residues were also detected in hydrolysed infant formulas. The results of fluorescent sELISA showed good performance as HRP-based sELISA and commercial sELISA kit. This proposed fluorescent sELISA could be employed to detect BLG and its allergenic residues in food with highly sensitivity, reliability, and recovery. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Qualitative and quantitative detection of T7 bacteriophages using paper based sandwich ELISA.

    PubMed

    Khan, Mohidus Samad; Pande, Tripti; van de Ven, Theo G M

    2015-08-01

    Viruses cause many infectious diseases and consequently epidemic health threats. Paper based diagnostics and filters can offer attractive options for detecting and deactivating pathogens. However, due to their infectious characteristics, virus detection using paper diagnostics is more challenging compared to the detection of bacteria, enzymes, DNA or antigens. The major objective of this study was to prepare reliable, degradable and low cost paper diagnostics to detect viruses, without using sophisticated optical or microfluidic analytical instruments. T7 bacteriophage was used as a model virus. A paper based sandwich ELISA technique was developed to detect and quantify the T7 phages in solution. The paper based sandwich ELISA detected T7 phage concentrations as low as 100 pfu/mL to as high as 10(9) pfu/mL. The compatibility of paper based sandwich ELISA with the conventional titre count was tested using T7 phage solutions of unknown concentrations. The paper based sandwich ELISA technique is faster and economical compared to the traditional detection techniques. Therefore, with proper calibration and right reagents, and by following the biosafety regulations, the paper based technique can be said to be compatible and economical to the sophisticated laboratory diagnostic techniques applied to detect pathogenic viruses and other microorganisms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Nested-PCR and a new ELISA-based NovaLisa test kit for malaria diagnosis in an endemic area of Thailand.

    PubMed

    Thongdee, Pimwan; Chaijaroenkul, Wanna; Kuesap, Jiraporn; Na-Bangchang, Kesara

    2014-08-01

    Microscopy is considered as the gold standard for malaria diagnosis although its wide application is limited by the requirement of highly experienced microscopists. PCR and serological tests provide efficient diagnostic performance and have been applied for malaria diagnosis and research. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of nested PCR and a recently developed an ELISA-based new rapid diagnosis test (RDT), NovaLisa test kit, for diagnosis of malaria infection, using microscopic method as the gold standard. The performance of nested-PCR as a malaria diagnostic tool is excellent with respect to its high accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and ability to discriminate Plasmodium species. The sensitivity and specificity of nested-PCR compared with the microscopic method for detection of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and P. falciparum/P. vivax mixed infection were 71.4 vs 100%, 100 vs 98.7%, and 100 vs 95.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA-based NovaLisa test kit compared with the microscopic method for detection of Plasmodium genus were 89.0 vs 91.6%, respectively. NovaLisa test kit provided comparable diagnostic performance. Its relatively low cost, simplicity, and rapidity enables large scale field application.

  10. Cost-effectiveness of the Carbon-13 Urea Breath Test for the Detection of Helicobacter Pylori

    PubMed Central

    Masucci, L; Blackhouse, G; Goeree, R

    2013-01-01

    Objectives This analysis aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various testing strategies for Helicobacter pylori in patients with uninvestigated dyspepsia and to calculate the budgetary impact of these tests for the province of Ontario. Data Sources Data on the sensitivity and specificity were obtained from the clinical evidence-based analysis. Resource items were obtained from expert opinion, and costs were applied on the basis of published sources as well as expert opinion. Review Methods A decision analytic model was constructed to compare the costs and outcomes (false-positive results, false-negative results, and misdiagnoses avoided) of the carbon-13 (13C) urea breath test (UBT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) serology test, and a 2-step strategy of an ELISA serology test and a confirmatory 13C UBT based on the sensitivity and specificity of the tests and prevalence estimates. Results The 2-step strategy is more costly and more effective than the ELISA serology test and results in $210 per misdiagnosis case avoided. The 13C UBT is dominated by the 2-step strategy, i.e., it is more costly and less effective. The budget impact analysis indicates that it will cost $7.9 million more to test a volume of 129,307 patients with the 13C UBT than with ELISA serology, and $4.7 million more to test these patients with the 2-step strategy. Limitations The clinical studies that were pooled varied in the technique used to perform the breath test and in reference standards used to make comparisons with the breath test. However, these parameters were varied in a sensitivity analysis. The economic model was designed to consider intermediate outcomes only (i.e., misdiagnosed cases) and was not a complete model with final patient outcomes (e.g., quality-adjusted life years). Conclusions Results indicate that the 2-step strategy could be economically attractive for the testing of H. pylori. However, testing with the 2-step strategy will cost the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care $4.7 million more than with the ELISA serology test. PMID:24228083

  11. 9 CFR 145.14 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... microagglutination test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or the rapid serum test for all poultry... react on rapid serum test or enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay test (ELISA), or blood from birds that... inhibition (HI) test, the microhemagglutination inhibition test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA...

  12. The evaluation of a nucleoprotein ELISA for the detection of equine influenza antibodies and the differentiation of infected from vaccinated horses (DIVA).

    PubMed

    Galvin, Pamela; Gildea, Sarah; Arkins, Sean; Walsh, Cathal; Cullinane, Ann

    2013-12-01

    Antibodies against equine influenza virus (EIV) are traditionally quantified by haemagglutination inhibition (HI) or single radial haemolysis (SRH). To evaluate an ELISA for the detection of antibodies against influenza nucleoprotein in the diagnosis and surveillance of equine influenza (EI). The ELISA was compared with the SRH and HI tests. Serial serum samples from 203 naturally and 14 experimentally infected horses, from 60 weanlings following primary vaccination with five different vaccines (two whole inactivated vaccines, two ISCOM-based subunit vaccines and a recombinant canarypox virus vaccine) and from 44 adult horses following annual booster vaccination with six different vaccines were analysed. Fewer seroconversions were detected in clinical samples by ELISA than by SRH or HI but ELISA was more sensitive than SRH in naïve foals post-experimental infection. The ELISA did not detect the antibody response to vaccination with the recombinant canarypox virus vaccine confirming the usefulness of the combination of this kit and vaccine to differentiate between naturally infected and vaccinated horses, that is, DIVA. No DIVA capacity was evident with the other vaccines. The results suggest that this ELISA is a useful supplementary test for the diagnosis of EI although less sensitive than HI or SRH. It is an appropriate test for EI surveillance in a naïve population and may be combined with the recombinant canarypox virus vaccine but not with other commercially available subunit vaccines, in a DIVA strategy. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Development of a Blocking ELISA Using a Monoclonal Antibody to a Dominant Epitope in Non-Structural Protein 3A of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus, as a Matching Test for a Negative-Marker Vaccine.

    PubMed

    Fu, Yuanfang; Li, Pinghua; Cao, Yimei; Wang, Na; Sun, Pu; Shi, Qian; Ji, Xincheng; Bao, Huifang; Li, Dong; Chen, Yingli; Bai, Xingwen; Ma, Xueqing; Zhang, Jing; Lu, Zengjun; Liu, Zaixin

    2017-01-01

    Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a devastating animal disease. Strategies for differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) remain very important for controlling disease. Development of an epitope-deleted marker vaccine and accompanying diagnostic method will improve the efficiency of DIVA. Here, a monoclonal antibody (Mab) was found to recognize a conserved "AEKNPLE" epitope spanning amino acids 109-115 of non-structural protein (NSP) 3A of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV; O/Tibet/CHA/99 strain), which could be deleted by a reverse-genetic procedure. In addition, a blocking ELISA was developed based on this Mab against NSP 3A, which could serve as a matching test for a negative-marker vaccine. The criterion of this blocking ELISA was determined by detecting panels of sera from different origins. The serum samples with a percentage inhibition (PI) equal or greater than 50% were considered to be from infected animals, and those with <50% PI were considered to be from non-infected animals. This test showed similar performance when compared with other 2 blocking ELISAs based on an anti-NSP 3B Mab. This is the first report of the DIVA test for an NSP antibody based on an Mab against the conserved and predominant "AEKNPLE" epitope in NSP 3A of FMDV.

  14. Immunodiagnosis of Fasciola gigantica Infection Using Monoclonal Antibody-Based Sandwich ELISA and Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of Circulating Cathepsin L1 Protease

    PubMed Central

    Anuracpreeda, Panat; Chawengkirttikul, Runglawan; Sobhon, Prasert

    2016-01-01

    Background Tropical fasciolosis caused by Fasciola gigantica infection is one of the major diseases infecting ruminants in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia including Thailand. Parasitological diagnosis of fasciolosis is often unreliable and possesses low sensitivity. Therefore, the detection of circulating parasite antigens is thought to be a better alternative for diagnosis of fasciolosis, as it reflects the real parasite burden. Methods In this study, we have produced a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against recombinant F. gigantica cathepsin L1 (rFgCatL1), and developed both sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sandwich ELISA) and immunochromatographic (IC) test for rapid detection of circulating cathepsin L1 protease (CatL1) in the sera from mice experimentally and cattle naturally infected with Fasciola gigantica. MoAb 4E3 and biotinylated rabbit anti-recombinant CatL1 antibody were selected due to their high reactivities and specificities. Results The lower detection limits of sandwich ELISA and IC test were 3 pg/ml and 0.256 ng/ml, respectively. Sandwich ELISA and IC test could detect F. gigantica infection from day 1 to 35 post infection. In experimental mice, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 95%, 100% and 98.6% (for sandwich ELISA), and 93%, 100% and 98.2% (for IC test), while in natural cattle they were 98.3%, 100% and 99.5% (for sandwich ELISA), and 96.7%, 100% and 99.1% (for IC test). Conclusions These two assay methods showed high efficiencies and precisions for diagnosis of fasciolosis by F. gigantica. PMID:26731402

  15. Immunodiagnosis of Fasciola gigantica Infection Using Monoclonal Antibody-Based Sandwich ELISA and Immunochromatographic Assay for Detection of Circulating Cathepsin L1 Protease.

    PubMed

    Anuracpreeda, Panat; Chawengkirttikul, Runglawan; Sobhon, Prasert

    2016-01-01

    Tropical fasciolosis caused by Fasciola gigantica infection is one of the major diseases infecting ruminants in the tropical regions of Africa and Asia including Thailand. Parasitological diagnosis of fasciolosis is often unreliable and possesses low sensitivity. Therefore, the detection of circulating parasite antigens is thought to be a better alternative for diagnosis of fasciolosis, as it reflects the real parasite burden. In this study, we have produced a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against recombinant F. gigantica cathepsin L1 (rFgCatL1), and developed both sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (sandwich ELISA) and immunochromatographic (IC) test for rapid detection of circulating cathepsin L1 protease (CatL1) in the sera from mice experimentally and cattle naturally infected with Fasciola gigantica. MoAb 4E3 and biotinylated rabbit anti-recombinant CatL1 antibody were selected due to their high reactivities and specificities. The lower detection limits of sandwich ELISA and IC test were 3 pg/ml and 0.256 ng/ml, respectively. Sandwich ELISA and IC test could detect F. gigantica infection from day 1 to 35 post infection. In experimental mice, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 95%, 100% and 98.6% (for sandwich ELISA), and 93%, 100% and 98.2% (for IC test), while in natural cattle they were 98.3%, 100% and 99.5% (for sandwich ELISA), and 96.7%, 100% and 99.1% (for IC test). These two assay methods showed high efficiencies and precisions for diagnosis of fasciolosis by F. gigantica.

  16. Comparison of three commercial IgG and IgM ELISA kits for the detection of tick-borne encephalitis virus antibodies.

    PubMed

    Ackermann-Gäumann, Rahel; Tritten, Marie-Lise; Hassan, Mona; Lienhard, Reto

    2018-05-01

    Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is endemic in many parts of Europe and Asia. The diagnosis of this disease is essentially based on the demonstration of specific antibodies. For reasons of simplicity, automatization and quick availability of test results, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are the method of choice for serological diagnosis of TBE. Here, we evaluated three commercially available anti-TBEV IgG and IgM ELISAs using 251 serum samples: the SERION ELISA classic FSME Virus/TBE Virus IgG and IgM kit (Virion\\Serion), the RIDASCREEN ® FSME/TBE IgG and IgM kit (R-Biopharm), and the anti-FSME/TBE virus ELISA "Vienna" IgG/anti-FSME/TBE virus ELISA IgM kit (Euroimmun). In total, discrepant test results for IgG and/or IgM were observed for 37/251 (14.7 %) of tested samples; differences were statistically significant. Reference values defined by serum neutralization test (SNT, n = 25) or results provided by EQA organizers (n = 2) were established for a subset of samples. In relation to these values, false-positive results were observed mainly for Euroimmun Vienna IgG and RIDASCREEN IgG, whereas false-negative results were primarily observed for Virion\\Serion IgG and RIDASCREEN IgM kits. In routine diagnostics, specificity problems are of major relevance and may be addressed by analyzing the respective samples using SNT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  17. A New ELISA Using the ANANAS Technology Showing High Sensitivity to diagnose the Bovine Rhinotracheitis from Individual Sera to Pooled Milk.

    PubMed

    Casarin, Elisabetta; Lucchese, Laura; Grazioli, Santina; Facchin, Sonia; Realdon, Nicola; Brocchi, Emiliana; Morpurgo, Margherita; Nardelli, Stefano

    2016-01-01

    Diagnostic tests for veterinary surveillance programs should be efficient, easy to use and, possibly, economical. In this context, classic Enzyme linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA) remains the most common analytical platform employed for serological analyses. The analysis of pooled samples instead of individual ones is a common procedure that permits to certify, with one single test, entire herds as "disease-free". However, diagnostic tests for pooled samples need to be particularly sensitive, especially when the levels of disease markers are low, as in the case of anti-BoHV1 antibodies in milk as markers of Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) disease. The avidin-nucleic-acid-nanoassembly (ANANAS) is a novel kind of signal amplification platform for immunodiagnostics based on colloidal poly-avidin nanoparticles that, using model analytes, was shown to strongly increase ELISA test performance as compared to monomeric avidin. Here, for the first time, we applied the ANANAS reagent integration in a real diagnostic context. The monoclonal 1G10 anti-bovine IgG1 antibody was biotinylated and integrated with the ANANAS reagents for indirect IBR diagnosis from pooled milk mimicking tank samples from herds with IBR prevalence between 1 to 8%. The sensitivity and specificity of the ANANAS integrated method was compared to that of a classic test based on the same 1G10 antibody directly linked to horseradish peroxidase, and a commercial IDEXX kit recently introduced in the market. ANANAS integration increased by 5-fold the sensitivity of the 1G10 mAb-based conventional ELISA without loosing specificity. When compared to the commercial kit, the 1G10-ANANAS integrated method was capable to detect the presence of anti-BHV1 antibodies from bulk milk of gE antibody positive animals with 2-fold higher sensitivity and similar specificity. The results demonstrate the potentials of this new amplification technology, which permits improving current classic ELISA sensitivity limits without the need for new hardware investments.

  18. Development of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Based on Fusion VP2332-452 Antigen for Detecting Antibodies against Aleutian Mink Disease Virus.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiaowei; Song, Cailing; Liu, Yun; Qu, Liandong; Liu, Dafei; Zhang, Yun; Liu, Ming

    2016-02-01

    For detection of Aleutian mink disease virus (AMDV) antibodies, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using the recombinant VP2332-452 protein as an antigen. Counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) was used as a reference test to compare the results of the ELISA and Western blotting (WB); the specificity and sensitivity of the VP2332-452 ELISA were 97.9% and 97.3%, respectively, which were higher than those of WB. Therefore, this VP2332-452 ELISA may be a preferable method for detecting antibodies against AMDV. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  19. Evaluation of inapparent nosocomial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in Vietnam by use of highly specific recombinant truncated nucleocapsid protein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed

    Yu, Fuxun; Le, Mai Quynh; Inoue, Shingo; Thai, Hong Thi Cam; Hasebe, Futoshi; Del Carmen Parquet, Maria; Morita, Kouichi

    2005-07-01

    Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a recently emerged human disease associated with pneumonia. Inapparent infection with SARS coronavirus (CoV) is not well characterized. To develop a safe, simple, and reliable screening method for SARS diagnosis and epidemiological study, two recombinant SARS-CoV nucleocapsid proteins (N' protein and (N)Delta(121) protein) were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified by affinity chromatography, and used as antigens for indirect, immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Serum samples collected from healthy volunteers and SARS patients in Vietnam were used to evaluate the newly developed methods. The N' protein-based ELISA showed a highly nonspecific reaction. The (N)Delta(121) protein-based ELISA, with a nonspecific reaction drastically reduced compared to that of the nearly-whole-length N' protein-based ELISA, resulted in higher rates of positive reactions, higher titers, and earlier detection than the SARS-CoV-infected cell lysate-based ELISA. These results indicate that our newly developed SARS-CoV (N)Delta(121) protein-based ELISA is not only safe but also a more specific and more sensitive method to diagnose SARS-CoV infection and hence a useful tool for large-scale epidemiological studies. To identify inapparent SARS-CoV infections, serum samples collected from health care workers (HCWs) in Vietnam were screened by the (N)Delta(121) protein-based ELISA, and positive samples were confirmed by a virus neutralization test. Four out of 149 HCWs were identified to have inapparent SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam, indicating that subclinical SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam is rare but does exist.

  20. Evaluation of Inapparent Nosocomial Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection in Vietnam by Use of Highly Specific Recombinant Truncated Nucleocapsid Protein-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Fuxun; Le, Mai Quynh; Inoue, Shingo; Thai, Hong Thi Cam; Hasebe, Futoshi; del Carmen Parquet, Maria; Morita, Kouichi

    2005-01-01

    Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a recently emerged human disease associated with pneumonia. Inapparent infection with SARS coronavirus (CoV) is not well characterized. To develop a safe, simple, and reliable screening method for SARS diagnosis and epidemiological study, two recombinant SARS-CoV nucleocapsid proteins (N′ protein and NΔ121 protein) were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified by affinity chromatography, and used as antigens for indirect, immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Serum samples collected from healthy volunteers and SARS patients in Vietnam were used to evaluate the newly developed methods. The N′ protein-based ELISA showed a highly nonspecific reaction. The NΔ121 protein-based ELISA, with a nonspecific reaction drastically reduced compared to that of the nearly-whole-length N′ protein-based ELISA, resulted in higher rates of positive reactions, higher titers, and earlier detection than the SARS-CoV-infected cell lysate-based ELISA. These results indicate that our newly developed SARS-CoV NΔ121 protein-based ELISA is not only safe but also a more specific and more sensitive method to diagnose SARS-CoV infection and hence a useful tool for large-scale epidemiological studies. To identify inapparent SARS-CoV infections, serum samples collected from health care workers (HCWs) in Vietnam were screened by the NΔ121 protein-based ELISA, and positive samples were confirmed by a virus neutralization test. Four out of 149 HCWs were identified to have inapparent SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam, indicating that subclinical SARS-CoV infection in Vietnam is rare but does exist. PMID:16002634

  1. Organization and ELISA-Based Results of the First Proficiency Testing to Evaluate the Ability of European Union Laboratories to Detect Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Type B (SEB) in Buffer and Milk

    PubMed Central

    Nia, Yacine; Rodriguez, Mélanie; Zeleny, Reinhard; Herbin, Sabine; Auvray, Frédéric; Fiebig, Uwe; Avondet, Marc-André; Munoz, Amalia; Hennekinne, Jacques-Antoine

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this work was to organize the first proficiency test (PT) dedicated to staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) detection in milk and buffer solutions. This paper describes the organization of the PT trial according to EN ISO 17043 requirements. Characterization of the SEB stock solution was performed using SDS-PAGE and SE-specific ELISA, and amino acid analysis was used to assign its protein concentration. The solution was then used to prepare six PT materials (four milk and two buffer batches) at a ng/g toxin level, which included one blank and one SEA-containing milk as specificity control. Suitable material homogeneity and stability were assessed using screening and quantitative ELISAs. Among the methods used by the participants, ELISA-based methods demonstrated their efficiency for the detection of SEB in both simple and complex matrices. The results serve as a basis for further improving the detection capabilities in expert laboratories and can therefore be considered as a contribution to biopreparedness. PMID:27649244

  2. Computer-assisted enzyme immunoassays and simplified immunofluorescence assays: applications for the diagnostic laboratory and the veterinarian's office.

    PubMed

    Jacobson, R H; Downing, D R; Lynch, T J

    1982-11-15

    A computer-assisted enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system, based on kinetics of the reaction between substrate and enzyme molecules, was developed for testing large numbers of sera in laboratory applications. Systematic and random errors associated with conventional ELISA technique were identified leading to results formulated on a statistically validated, objective, and standardized basis. In a parallel development, an inexpensive system for field and veterinary office applications contained many of the qualities of the computer-assisted ELISA. This system uses a fluorogenic indicator (rather than the enzyme-substrate interaction) in a rapid test (15 to 20 minutes' duration) which promises broad application in serodiagnosis.

  3. Development of a blocking ELISA based on a monoclonal antibody against a predominant epitope in non-structural protein 3B2 of foot-and-mouth disease virus for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals.

    PubMed

    Fu, Yuanfang; Lu, Zengjun; Li, Pinghua; Cao, Yimei; Sun, Pu; Tian, Meina; Wang, Na; Bao, Huifang; Bai, Xingwen; Li, Dong; Chen, Yingli; Liu, Zaixin

    2014-01-01

    A monoclonal antibody (McAb) against non-structural protein (NSP) 3B of foot-mouth-disease virus (FMDV) (3B4B1) was generated and shown to recognize a conserved epitope spanning amino acids 24-32 of 3B (GPYAGPMER) by peptide screening ELISA. This epitope was further shown to be a unique and predominant B cell epitope in 3B2, as sera from animals infected with different serotypes of FMDV blocked the ability of McAb 3B4B1 to bind to NSP 2C3AB. Also, a polyclonal antibody against NSP 2C was produced in a rabbit vaccinated with 2C epitope regions expressed in E. coli. Using McAb 3B4B1 and the 2C polyclonal antibody, a solid-phase blocking ELISA (SPB-ELISA) was developed for the detection of antibodies against NSP 2C3AB to distinguish FMDV-infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA test). The parameters for this SPB-ELISA were established by screening panels of sera of different origins. Serum samples with a percent inhibition (PI) greater than or equal to 46% were considered to be from infected animals, and a PI lower than 46% was considered to indicate a non-infected animal. This test showed a similar performance as the commercially available PrioCHECK NS ELISA. This is the first description of the conserved and predominant GPYAGPMER epitope of 3B and also the first report of a DIVA test for FMDV NSP 3B based on a McAb against this epitope.

  4. Noninvasive Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis: Development and Evaluation of Two Urine-Based Immunoassays for Detection of Leishmania donovani Infection in India

    PubMed Central

    Ejazi, Sarfaraz Ahmad; Bhattacharya, Pradyot; Bakhteyar, Md. Asjad Karim; Mumtaz, Aquil Ahmad; Pandey, Krishna; Das, Vidya Nand Ravi; Das, Pradeep; Rahaman, Mehebubar; Goswami, Rama Prosad; Ali, Nahid

    2016-01-01

    Background Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), a severe parasitic disease, could be fatal if diagnosis and treatment is delayed. Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), a skin related outcome, is a potential reservoir for the spread of VL. Diagnostic tests available for VL such as tissue aspiration are invasive and painful although they are capable of evaluating the treatment response. Serological tests although less invasive than tissue aspiration are incompetent to assess cure. Parasitological examination of slit-skin smear along with the clinical symptoms is routinely used for diagnosis of PKDL. Therefore, a noninvasive test with acceptable sensitivity and competency, additionally, to decide cure would be an asset in disease management and control. Methodology/principal findings We describe here, the development of antibody-capture ELISA and field adaptable dipstick test as noninvasive diagnostic tools for VL and PKDL and as a test of cure in VL treatment. Sensitivity and specificity of urine-ELISA were 97.94% (95/97) and 100% (75/75) respectively, for VL. Importantly, dipstick test demonstrated 100% sensitivity (97/97) and specificity (75/75) in VL diagnosis. Degree of agreement of the two methods with tissue aspiration was 98.83% (κ = 0.97) and 100% (κ = 1), for ELISA and dipstick test, respectively. Both the tests had 100% positivity for PKDL (14/14) cases. ELISA and dipstick test illustrated treatment efficacy in about 90% (16/18) VL cases when eventually turned negative after six months of treatment. Conclusions/significance ELISA and dipstick test found immensely effective for diagnosis of VL and PKDL through urine samples thus, may substitute the existing invasive diagnostics. Utility of these tests as indirect methods of monitoring parasite clearance can define infected versus cured. Urine-based dipstick test is simple, sensitive and above all noninvasive method that may help not only in active VL case detection but also to ascertain treatment response. It can therefore, be deployed widely for interventions in disease management of VL particularly in poor resource outskirts. PMID:27741241

  5. Detection of Penicillinase in Milk by Sandwich ELISA Based Polyclonal and Monoclonal Antibody.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Yinli; Li, Guoxi

    2016-01-01

    A sandwich ELISA has been developed using polyclonal and monoclonal antibody for the determination of penicillinase in milk. For this purpose, specific polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against penicillinase were generated and characterized. Using penicillinase standards prepared from 1-128 ng/mL, the method indicated that the detection limit of the sandwich ELISA, as measured in an ELISA plate reader, was as low as 0.86 ng/mL of penicillinase. For determine the accuracy, raw milk containing 2, 8, 32, and 64 ng/mL of penicillinase were tested by sandwich ELISA. Recoveries were from 93-97.5%, and the coefficient of variation [CV (%)] were from 5.55-8.38%. For interassay reproducibility, recoveries were from 89.5-95.1%, the coefficient of variation [CV (%)] were from 5.26-9.58%. This sandwich ELISA provides a useful screening method for quantitative detection of penicillinase in milk.

  6. 9 CFR 146.13 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ...) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA must be conducted using test kits approved by the... conducted on all ELISA-positive samples. (B) The AGID test must be conducted using reagents approved by the...

  7. 9 CFR 146.13 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ...) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA must be conducted using test kits approved by the... conducted on all ELISA-positive samples. (B) The AGID test must be conducted using reagents approved by the...

  8. 9 CFR 146.13 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ...) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA must be conducted using test kits approved by the... conducted on all ELISA-positive samples. (B) The AGID test must be conducted using reagents approved by the...

  9. 9 CFR 146.13 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ...) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA must be conducted using test kits approved by the... conducted on all ELISA-positive samples. (B) The AGID test must be conducted using reagents approved by the...

  10. 9 CFR 146.13 - Testing.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ...) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). ELISA must be conducted using test kits approved by the... conducted on all ELISA-positive samples. (B) The AGID test must be conducted using reagents approved by the...

  11. Single-dilution enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for quantification of antigen-specific salmonid antibody

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Alcorn, S.W.; Pascho, R.J.

    2000-01-01

    An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed on the basis of testing a single dilution of serum to quantify the level of antibody to the p57 protein of Renibaclerium salmoninarum in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). The levels of antibody were interpolated from a standard curve constructed by relating the optical densities (OD) produced by several dilutions of a high-titer rainbow trout (O. mykiss) antiserum to the p57 protein. The ELISA OD values produced by as many as 36 test sera on each microplate were compared with the standard curve to calculate the antigen-specific antibody activity. Repeated measurements of 36 samples on 3 microplates on each of 6 assay dates indicated that the mean intraassay coefficient of variation (CV) was 6.68% (range, 0-23%) and the mean interassay CV was 8.29% (range, 4-16%). The antibody levels determined for the serum sample from 24 sockeye salmon vaccinated with a recombinant p57 protein generally were correlated with the levels determined by endpoint titration (r2 = 0.936) and with results from another ELISA that was based on extrapolation of antibody levels from a standard curve (r2 = 0.956). The single-dilution antibody ELISA described here increases the number of samples that can be tested on each microplate compared with immunoassays based on analysis of several dilutions of each test serum. It includes controls for interassay standardization and can be used to test fish weighing <3 g.

  12. [Establishment of A1E3 and B1C4 monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for detecting circulating antigen of Schistosoma japonicum and its preliminary application].

    PubMed

    Cai, Yu-Chun; Chen, Shao-Hong; Tian, Li-Guang; Chu, Yan-Hong; Lu, Yan; Chen, Mu-Xin; Ai, Lin; Zhou, Yang; Chen, Jia-Xu

    2014-02-01

    To establish A1E3 and B1C4 monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for detecting circulating antigen of Schistosoma japonicum and explore its application value in the field. The characteristics of A1E3 and B1C4 monoclonal antibodies were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. The SEA-based ELISA was used to evaluate the titers of A1E3 and B1C4. The orthogonal test was used to determine the best concentration of coating antibody B1C4 and optimal working concentration of A1E3-HRP. Under the optimal conditions, the serum samples of 20 acute schistosomiasis cases, 46 chronic schistosomiasis cases, and 20 control sera were tested to evaluate its detection sensitivity and specificity. Seventy-two antibody positive serum samples from Jiangling County of Hubei Province were detected and compared to a commercially available ELISA kit, to evaluate the detection effects of this method. The results of SDS-PAGE demonstrated that the purified A1E3 and B1C4 contained a clear heavy chain with molecular weight of 88,000 and 52,000 respectively and had the same light chain with molecular weight of 20,000; while Western blotting demonstrated that A1E3 and B1C4 could be recognized by SEA and serum samples of acute schistosomiasis cases. The SEA-based ELISA demonstrated the titers of B1C4 and A1E3 were 1:10(5) and 1:30,000, respectively. The serum samples from all the acute cases and 86.9% of the chronic cases showed a positive reaction. All of the control sera from healthy persons gave a negative response. The positive rates of the double monoclonal antibody ELISA and commercial ELISA for detecting the circulating antigen were 45.8% and 43.1% respectively, and there was no significant difference between the results of the two methods. A1E3 and B1C4 monoclonal antibody-based ELISA is established successfully. It exhibits a high sensitivity and specificity in detecting circulating antigen of Schistosoma japonicum.

  13. The double-antigen ELISA concept for early detection of Erns -specific classical swine fever virus antibodies and application as an accompanying test for differentiation of infected from marker vaccinated animals.

    PubMed

    Meyer, D; Fritsche, S; Luo, Y; Engemann, C; Blome, S; Beyerbach, M; Chang, C-Y; Qiu, H-J; Becher, P; Postel, A

    2017-12-01

    Emergency vaccination with live marker vaccines represents a promising control strategy for future classical swine fever (CSF) outbreaks, and the first live marker vaccine is available in Europe. Successful implementation is dependent on a reliable accompanying diagnostic assay that allows differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). As induction of a protective immune response relies on virus-neutralizing antibodies against E2 protein of CSF virus (CSFV), the most promising DIVA strategy is based on detection of E rns -specific antibodies in infected swine. The aim of this study was to develop and to evaluate a novel E rns -specific prototype ELISA (pigtype CSFV E rns Ab), which may be used for CSF diagnosis including application as an accompanying discriminatory test for CSFV marker vaccines. The concept of a double-antigen ELISA was shown to be a solid strategy to detect E rns -specific antibodies against CSFV isolates of different genotypes (sensitivity: 93.5%; specificity: 99.7%). Furthermore, detection of early seroconversion is advantageous compared with a frequently used CSFV E2 antibody ELISA. Clear differences in reactivity between sera taken from infected animals and animals vaccinated with various marker vaccines were observed. In combination with the marker vaccine CP7_E2alf, the novel ELISA represents a sensitivity of 90.2% and a specificity of 93.8%. However, cross-reactivity with antibodies against ruminant pestiviruses was observed. Interestingly, the majority of samples tested false-positive in other E rns -based antibody ELISAs were identified correctly by the novel prototype E rns ELISA and vice versa. In conclusion, the pigtype CSFV E rns Ab ELISA can contribute to an improvement in routine CSFV antibody screening, particularly for analysis of sera taken at an early time point after infection and is applicable as a DIVA assay. An additional E rns antibody assay is recommended for identification of false-positive results in a pig herd immunized with the licensed CP7_E2alf marker vaccine. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  14. Detection of peste des petits ruminants virus antigen using immunofiltration and antigen-competition ELISA methods.

    PubMed

    Raj, G Dhinakar; Rajanathan, T M C; Kumar, C Senthil; Ramathilagam, G; Hiremath, Geetha; Shaila, M S

    2008-06-22

    Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is one of the most economically important diseases affecting sheep and goats in India. An immunofiltration-based test has been developed using either mono-specific serum/monoclonal antibodies (mAb) prepared against a recombinant truncated nucleocapsid protein of rinderpest virus (RPV) cross-reactive with PPR virus. This method consists of coating ocular swab eluate from suspected animals onto a nitrocellulose membrane housed in a plastic module, which is allowed to react with suitable dilutions of a mAb or a mono-specific polyclonal antibody. The antigen-antibody complex formed on the membrane is then detected by protein A-colloidal gold conjugate, which forms a pink colour. In the immunofiltration test, concordant results were obtained using either PPRV mAb or mono-specific serum. Another test, an antigen-competition ELISA which relies on the competition between plate-coated recombinant truncated 'N' protein of RPV and the PPRV 'N' protein present in ocular swab eluates (sample) for binding to the mono-specific antibody against N protein of RPV (in liquid phase) was developed. The cut-off value for this test was established using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive and negative oculo-nasal swab samples. Linear correlation between percent inhibition (PI) values in antigen-competition ELISA and virus infectivity titres was 0.992. Comparison of the immunofiltration test with the antigen-competition ELISA yielded a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100%. These two tests can serve as a screening (immunofiltration) and confirmatory (antigen-competition ELISA) test, respectively, in the diagnosis of PPR in sheep or goats.

  15. Presence of antigen and antibodies in serum and genital discharges of cows from dairy herds naturally infected with Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo.

    PubMed

    Dhaliwal, G S; Murray, R D; Dobson, H; Montgomery, J; Ellis, W A

    1996-03-01

    Samples of cervico-vaginal mucus from 163 bulling cows (group 1) and post calving discharges from 59 newly calved cows (group 2) in five dairy herds naturally infected with Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo were examined for the presence of antigen and IgG and IgA antibodies by using two ELISA systems which were protein or carbohydrate based. Corresponding serum samples were examined for systemic immune responses by using a microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and IgG-ELISA tests. Antigen was detected by direct immunofluorescence in six of the 163 samples of cervico-vaginal mucus. Both IgG and IgA antibodies were detected by ELISA in the genital discharges with a prevalence much higher than that obtained by the MAT but lower than that observed with the serum IgG-ELISA. Combining both groups, none of the MAT-positive cattle was negative by serum-ELISA. By using the protein or carbohydrate fraction serum IgG-ELISA assays, respectively, 29 or 41 per cent of the MAT-negative cows were positive at a titre of at least 1:40. Similarly, eight or 23 samples (10 or 27 per cent) had titres of at least 1:20 in the genital discharge ELISA for IgG and IgA antibodies, respectively. The serum IgG-ELISA was the most efficient in detecting hardjo antibodies, but in group 2 the IgG- and IgA-ELISA of the post calving discharge proved to be equally effective.

  16. Detection of serum antibodies to hepatitis E virus in domestic pigs in Italy using a recombinant swine HEV capsid protein.

    PubMed

    Ponterio, Eleonora; Di Bartolo, Ilaria; Orrù, Ginevra; Liciardi, Manuel; Ostanello, Fabio; Ruggeri, Franco Maria

    2014-06-16

    The hepatitis E virus (HEV) has been detected in both humans and animals, particularly pigs, worldwide. Several evidences, including human infection following consumption of raw contaminated meat, suggest a zoonotic transmission of HEV. In Italy, large circulation of genotype 3 HEV has been reported in swine, and recent studies have confirmed the involvement of this genotype in autochthonous human cases. In this study 111 sera collected from healthy pigs in two Italian regions were tested for anti-HEV IgG antibodies. For specific HEV antibody detection in swine, we developed ELISA and Western blotting methods, using a truncated capsid (ORF2) protein lacking the first 111 amino acids of a swine HEV genotype 3 strain. The ORF2-based ELISA revealed anti-HEV antibodies in 104 out of 111 pigs compared with 102 detected with a commercial ELISA kit. A lower number of sera reacted with the recombinant ORF2 protein in a Western blotting format (81/111). Using a Latent class analysis (LCA), the estimated sensitivities for ELISA-ORF2 and ELISA-kit tests were 0.961 and 0.936, respectively, whereas specificities were 0.599 and 0.475. The estimated sensitivity of Western blotting was 0.775, and the specificity was 0.944. The overall results confirm the high prevalence of HEV seropositive healthy pigs in Italy. Through comparisons with a commercial ELISA test, the swine genotype 3 HEV antigen produced in this study was proven suitable to detect anti-HEV antibodies in pig sera by both ELISA and Western Blotting.

  17. Comparative evaluation of the diagnostic potential of recombinant envelope proteins and native cell culture purified viral antigens of Chikungunya virus.

    PubMed

    Khan, Mohsin; Dhanwani, Rekha; Kumar, Jyoti S; Rao, P V Lakshmana; Parida, Manmohan

    2014-07-01

    Despite the fact that Chikungunya resurgence is associated with epidemic of unprecedented magnitude, there are challenges in the field of its clinical diagnosis. However, serological tests in an ELISA format provide a rapid tool for the diagnosis of Chikungunya infection. Indeed, ELISAs based on recombinant proteins hold a great promise as these methods are cost effective and are free from the risk of handling biohazardous material. In this study, the performance of recombinant CHIKV antigens was compared in various ELISA formats for the diagnosis of Chikungunya. Two recombinant antigens derived from the envelope proteins of Chikungunya virus were prepared and evaluated by comparing their competence for detecting circulating antibodies in serum samples of patients infected with CHIKV using MAC-ELISA and indirect IgM-ELISA. The efficacy of the recombinant antigens was also compared with the native antigen. The indirect antibody capture IgM microplate ELISA revealed ≥90% concordance with the native antigen in detecting the CHIKV specific IgM antibodies whereas the recombinant antigen based MAC-ELISA showed 100% specificity. The recombinant antigens used in this study were effective and reliable targets for the diagnosis of CHIKV infection and also provide an alternative for native antigen use which is potentially biohazardous. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test.

    PubMed

    Frade, Marco Andrey C; de Paula, Natália A; Gomes, Ciro M; Vernal, Sebastian; Bernardes Filho, Fred; Lugão, Helena B; de Abreu, Marilda M M; Botini, Patrícia; Duthie, Malcolm S; Spencer, John S; Soares, Rosa Castália F R; Foss, Norma T

    2017-02-01

    Leprosy diagnosis is mainly based on clinical evaluation, although this approach is difficult, especially for untrained physicians. We conducted a temporary campaign to detect previously unknown leprosy cases in midwestern Brazil and to compare the performance of different serological tests. A mobile clinic was stationed at the main bus terminal in Brasília, Brazil. Volunteers were quizzed and given a clinical exam to allow categorization as either patients, known contacts of patients or non-contacts, and blood was collected to determine anti-PGL-I and anti-LID-1 antibody titers by ELISA and by the NDO-LID rapid test. New cases of leprosy and the impact of performing this broad random surveillance strategy were evaluated. Accuracy values and concordance between the test results were evaluated among all groups. Four hundred thirty-four individuals were evaluated, and 44 (10.1%) were diagnosed with leprosy. Borderline forms were the most frequent presentation. Both tests presented higher positivity in those individuals with multibacillary disease. Serological tests demonstrated specificities arround 70% for anti-PGL-1 and anti-LID ELISA; and arround 40% for NDO-LID. Sensitivities ranged from 48 to 62%. A substantial agreement between NDO-LID and ELISA with concomitant positive results was found within leprosy patients (Kappa index = 0.79 CI95% 0.36-1.22). The unexpectedly high leprosy prevalence in this population indicates ongoing community-based exposure to Mycobacterium leprae antigens and high rates of subclinical infection. All tests showed low specificity and sensitivity values and therefore cannot be considered for use as stand-alone diagnostics. Rather, considering their positivity among MB patients and non-patients, these tests can be considered effective tools for screening and identifying individuals at high risk who might benefit from regular monitoring.

  19. Acceptability and feasibility of HIV testing in general medicine by ELISA or rapid test from finger-stick whole blood.

    PubMed

    Demorat, Hubert; Lopes, Amanda; Chopin, Dorothée; Delcey, Véronique; Clevenbergh, Philippe; Simoneau, Guy; Evans, John; Mouly, Stéphane; Bergmann, Jean-François; Sellier, Pierre

    2018-02-01

    Guidelines recommend routine universal HIV testing in adults to reduce the pool of infected patients unaware of their status, without specific recommendations concerning the method. We compared acceptability and feasibility of HIV testing by ELISA tests or rapid tests from finger-stick whole blood. Prospective randomized multi-center study comparing acceptability and feasibility of routine universal HIV testing by ELISA tests, with a charge, subsequently reimbursed by Social Security for affiliated patients, or rapid tests from finger-stick whole blood, without any charge from the patients or the general practitioner for the study. A single investigator performed all interventions. After consent, all adults (18-70 years old) consulting their general practitioner in Paris, France, unaware of their status, were enrolled. Testing was performed immediately for the patients in the rapid test arm; a prescription was given for testing in a lab for the patients in the ELISA arm. The primary endpoint was acceptability of each method. The secondary endpoint was feasibility of each method, assessed one month after the consultation. Two hundred and seventy patients were enrolled: 133 patients in the ELISA arm, 137 in the rapid test arm. Acceptability of the rapid test (92%) was higher than that of the ELISA (63.9%), P<0.0001. Feasibility of the rapid test (100%) was higher than that of the ELISA (50.5%), P<0.0001. A center effect was shown concerning feasibility of ELISA but not concerning feasibility of rapid tests. Rapid testing from finger-stick whole blood is more acceptable and feasible than ELISA for routine universal HIV testing. A larger use of rapid tests, ideally free of charge, by general practitioners could reduce the pool of infected patients unaware of their status. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  20. [Serological examinations for swine vesicular disease (SVD) in a closed pig breeding herd using ELISA].

    PubMed

    Pannwitz, Gunter; Haas, Bernd; Hoffmann, Bernd; Fischer, Sebastian

    2009-01-01

    In a closed pig establishment housing about 18,000 pigs, 2895 gilts were tested pre-export for SVD (swine vesicular disease) antibodies using Ceditest/PrioCHECK SVDV-AB ELISA. 130 gilts (4.5%) tested positive. In addition, 561 animals of this farm were sampled per random for SVD serology. One in 241 weaners (0.4%), eight in 150 gilts (5.3%) and 18 in 170 (10.6%) pregnant sows tested ELISA SVD-antibody positive. Of the ELISA positive samples, 23 tested positive in VNT (virus neutralization test). Of these, 20 VNT-positive animals were re-sampled two weeks later and re-tested via ELISA and VNT in different laboratories, displaying falling titres with one to two animals remaining VNT-positive. Epidemiological investigations and clinical examinations on site did not yield any evidence for SVD. 745 faecal samples taken from individual pigs and collected from pens tested negative in SVDV-RNA-PCR. 40 of these samples tested negative in virus isolation on cell culture. Pathological examinations on fallen pigs did not reveal any evidence for SVD either. After comparing our ELISA results with data recorded in the ELISA validation by Chenard et al. (1998), we propose that the published test performance is perhaps not currently applicable for the commercial test. Provided that SVD-antibody negative pigs were tested, a specificity of 99.6% in weaners, 95.5% in gilts and 89.4% in pregnant sows would appear to be more appropriate for the Ceditest/PrioCHECK SVDV-AB ELISA. Details are provided for all examined pigs regarding husbandry, breed, age, weeks pregnant and previous vaccinations. The results of other serological tests on the same sera are given. Possible clusterings of false-positive SVD-ELISA results are discussed.

  1. Bayesian estimation of sensitivity and specificity of a milk pregnancy-associated glycoprotein-based ELISA and of transrectal ultrasonographic exam for diagnosis of pregnancy at 28-45 days following breeding in dairy cows.

    PubMed

    Dufour, Simon; Durocher, Jean; Dubuc, Jocelyn; Dendukuri, Nandini; Hassan, Shereen; Buczinski, Sébastien

    2017-05-01

    Using a milk sample for pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle is extremely convenient due to the low technical inputs required for collection of biological materials. Determining accuracy of a novel pregnancy diagnostic test that relies on a milk sample is, however, difficult since no gold standard test is available for comparison. The objective of the current study was to estimate diagnostic accuracy of the milk PAG-based ELISA and of transrectal ultrasonographic (TUS) exam for determining pregnancy status of individual dairy cows using a methodology suited for test validation in the absence of gold standard. Secondary objectives were to evaluate whether test accuracy varies with cow's characteristics and to identify the optimal ELISA optical density threshold for PAG test interpretation. Cows (n=519) from 18 commercial dairies tested with both TUS and PAG between 28 and 45days following breeding were included in the study. Other covariates (number of days since breeding, parity, and daily milk production) hypothesized to affect TUS or PAG test accuracy were measured. A Bayesian hierarchical latent class model (LCM) methodology assuming conditional independence between tests was used to obtain estimates of tests' sensitivities (Se) and specificities (Sp), to evaluate impact of covariates on these, and to compute misclassification costs across a range of ELISA thresholds. Very little disagreement was observed between tests with only 23 cows yielding discordant results. Using the LCM model with non-informative priors for tests accuracy parameters, median (95% credibility intervals [CI]) TUS Se and Sp estimates of 0.96 (0.91, 1.00) and 0.99 (0.97, 1.0) were obtained. For the PAG test, median (95% CI) Se of 0.99 (0.98, 1.00) and Sp of 0.95 (0.89, 1.0) were observed. The impact of adjusting for conditional dependence between tests was negligible. Test accuracy of the PAG test varied slightly by parity number. When assuming false negative to false positive costs ratio≥3:1, the optimal ELISA optical density threshold allowing minimization of misclassification costs was 0.25. In conclusion, both TUS and PAG showed excellent accuracy for pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cows. When using the PAG test, a threshold of 0.25 could be used for test interpretation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring the concentration of, and detection of antibodies to, Aujeszky's disease virus.

    PubMed

    Kardi, V; Szegletes, E; Perényi, T; Pergel, I; Smal, Z

    1990-01-01

    A double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for measuring Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV) antigen concentration and an inhibition technique based on the former was developed for detection of antibodies to ADV. The results were checked by determining the cytopathic and serum neutralization titres. The correlation was satisfactory in both cases, with correlation coefficients above 0.8. When measuring ADV antigen concentration, the lower limit of detection was 10(3) TCID 50/0.2 ml. The sensitivity of ELISA in detecting antibodies to ADV was found to be superior to that of the serum neutralization test and, thus, enabled the testing of rabbit and guinea-pig sera.

  3. Evaluation of two new commercial tests for the diagnosis of acute dengue virus infection using NS1 antigen detection in human serum.

    PubMed

    Dussart, Philippe; Petit, Laure; Labeau, Bhety; Bremand, Laetitia; Leduc, Alexandre; Moua, David; Matheus, Séverine; Baril, Laurence

    2008-08-20

    We compared the performance of two new commercial tests for the detection of dengue NS1 protein during the clinical phase of dengue virus (DENV) infection-an immunochromatographic test allowing rapid detection of the NS1 antigen, Dengue NS1 Ag STRIP (Bio-Rad Laboratories - Marnes La Coquette, France), and a two-step sandwich-format microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), pan-E Dengue Early ELISA (Panbio - Brisbane, Australia)-with a one-step sandwich-format microplate ELISA, the Platelia Dengue NS1 Ag test (Bio-Rad). We tested 272 serum samples from patients with dengue disease. Of these, 222 were from patients with acute infection of one of the four dengue serotypes, detected by RT-PCR and/or virus isolation. Forty-eight acute-phase serum samples from patients not infected with dengue virus were also included. The sensitivity of the Platelia Dengue NS1 Ag test on acute serum samples (n = 222) was 87.4% (95% confidence interval: 82.3% to 91.5%); that of Dengue NS1 Ag STRIP was 81.5% (95% CI: 75.8% to 86.4%) after 15 minutes and 82.4% (95% CI: 76.8% to 87.2%) after 30 minutes. Both tests had a specificity of 100% (97.5% CI, one-sided test: 92.6% to 100.0%). The pan-E Dengue Early ELISA had a sensitivity of 60.4% (95% CI: 53.4% to 66.8%) and a specificity of 97.9% (95% CI: 88.9% to 99.9%). Our findings support the use of diagnostic tools based on the NS1 antigen detection for the diagnosis of acute DENV infection. The immunochromatographic test, Dengue NS1 Ag STRIP-the first rapid diagnostic test for DENV infection-was highly sensitive and specific, and would therefore be a suitable first-line test in the field. The pan-E Dengue Early ELISA was less sensitive than the Platelia test; this two-step ELISA should be combined with DENV IgM antibody detection for the diagnosis of DENV infection.

  4. A Recombinant Positive Control for Serology Diagnostic Tests Supporting Elimination of Onchocerca volvulus.

    PubMed

    Golden, Allison; Stevens, Eric J; Yokobe, Lindsay; Faulx, Dunia; Kalnoky, Michael; Peck, Roger; Valdez, Melissa; Steel, Cathy; Karabou, Potochoziou; Banla, Méba; Soboslay, Peter T; Adade, Kangi; Tekle, Afework H; Cama, Vitaliano A; Fischer, Peter U; Nutman, Thomas B; Unnasch, Thomas R; de los Santos, Tala; Domingo, Gonzalo J

    2016-01-01

    Serological assays for human IgG4 to the Onchocerca volvulus antigen Ov16 have been used to confirm elimination of onchocerciasis in much of the Americas and parts of Africa. A standardized source of positive control antibody (human anti-Ov16 IgG4) will ensure the quality of surveillance data using these tests. A recombinant human IgG4 antibody to Ov16 was identified by screening against a synthetic human Fab phage display library and converted into human IgG4. This antibody was developed into different positive control formulations for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and rapid diagnostic test (RDT) platforms. Variation in ELISA results and utility as a positive control of the antibody were assessed from multiple laboratories. Temperature and humidity conditions were collected across seven surveillance activities from 2011-2014 to inform stability requirements for RDTs and positive controls. The feasibility of the dried positive control for RDT was evaluated during onchocerciasis surveillance activity in Togo, in 2014. When the anti-Ov16 IgG4 antibody was used as a standard dilution in horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) ELISAs, the detection limits were approximately 1ng/mL by HRP ELISA and 10ng/mL by AP ELISA. Positive control dilutions and spiked dried blood spots (DBS) produced similar ELISA results. Used as a simple plate normalization control, the positive control antibody may improve ELISA data comparison in the context of inter-laboratory variation. The aggregate temperature and humidity monitor data informed temperature parameters under which the dried positive control was tested and are applicable inputs for testing of diagnostics tools intended for sub-Saharan Africa. As a packaged positive control for Ov16 RDTs, stability of the antibody was demonstrated for over six months at relevant temperatures in the laboratory and for over 15 weeks under field conditions. The recombinant human anti-Ov16 IgG4 antibody-based positive control will benefit inter-laboratory validation of ELISA assays and serve as quality control (QC) reagents for Ov16 RDTs at different points of the supply chain from manufacturer to field use.

  5. Diagnostic accuracy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot (IB) for the detection of antibodies against Neospora caninum in milk from dairy cows.

    PubMed

    Chatziprodromidou, I P; Apostolou, T

    2018-04-01

    The aim of the study was to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot (IB) for detecting antibodies of Neospora caninum in dairy cows, in the absence of a gold standard. The study complies with STRADAS-paratuberculosis guidelines for reporting the accuracy of the test. We tried to apply Bayesian models that do not require conditional independence of the tests under evaluation, but as convergence problems appeared, we used Bayesian methodology, that does not assume conditional dependence of the tests. Informative prior probability distributions were constructed, based on scientific inputs regarding sensitivity and specificity of the IB test and the prevalence of disease in the studied populations. IB sensitivity and specificity were estimated to be 98.8% and 91.3%, respectively, while the respective estimates for ELISA were 60% and 96.7%. A sensitivity analysis, where modified prior probability distributions concerning IB diagnostic accuracy applied, showed a limited effect in posterior assessments. We concluded that ELISA can be used to screen the bulk milk and secondly, IB can be used whenever needed.

  6. An inter-laboratory comparative study of serological tools employed in the diagnosis of Besnoitia besnoiti infection in bovines.

    PubMed

    García-Lunar, P; Ortega-Mora, L M; Schares, G; Gollnick, N S; Jacquiet, P; Grisez, C; Prevot, F; Frey, C F; Gottstein, B; Alvarez-García, G

    2013-02-01

    Bovine besnoitiosis is considered an emerging chronic and debilitating disease in Europe. Many infections remain subclinical, and the only sign of disease is the presence of parasitic cysts in the sclera and conjunctiva. Serological tests are useful for detecting asymptomatic cattle/sub-clinical infections for control purposes, as there are no effective drugs or vaccines. For this purpose, diagnostic tools need to be further standardized. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the serological tests available in Europe in a multi-centred study. A coded panel of 241 well-characterized sera from infected and non-infected bovines was provided by all participants (SALUVET-Madrid, FLI-Wusterhausen, ENV-Toulouse, IPB-Berne). The tests evaluated were as follows: an in-house ELISA, three commercial ELISAs (INGEZIM BES 12.BES.K1 INGENASA, PrioCHECK Besnoitia Ab V2.0, ID Screen Besnoitia indirect IDVET), two IFATs and seven Western blot tests (tachyzoite and bradyzoite extracts under reducing and non-reducing conditions). Two different definitions of a gold standard were used: (i) the result of the majority of tests ('Majority of tests') and (ii) the majority of test results plus pre-test information based on clinical signs ('Majority of tests plus pre-test info'). Relative to the gold standard 'Majority of tests', almost 100% sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were obtained with SALUVET-Madrid and FLI-Wusterhausen tachyzoite- and bradyzoite-based Western blot tests under non-reducing conditions. On the ELISAs, PrioCHECK Besnoitia Ab V2.0 showed 100% Se and 98.8% Sp, whereas ID Screen Besnoitia indirect IDVET showed 97.2% Se and 100% Sp. The in-house ELISA and INGEZIM BES 12.BES.K1 INGENASA showed 97.3% and 97.2% Se; and 94.6% and 93.0% Sp, respectively. IFAT FLI-Wusterhausen performed better than IFAT SALUVET-Madrid, with 100% Se and 95.4% Sp. Relative to the gold standard 'Majority of test plus pre-test info', Sp significantly decreased; this result was expected because of the existence of seronegative animals with clinical signs. All ELISAs performed very well and could be used in epidemiological studies; however, Western blot tests performed better and could be employed as a posteriori tests for control purposes in the case of uncertain results from valuable samples. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  7. Comparison of commercial ELISA tests for the detection of Toxoplasma antibodies in the meat juice of naturally infected pigs.

    PubMed

    Felin, Elina; Näreaho, Anu; Fredriksson-Ahomaa, Maria

    2017-04-30

    Toxoplasmosis is a globally distributed protozoal zoonosis. Pigs are considered an important reservoir of Toxoplasma gondii and pork a major infection source of human toxoplasmosis. ELISA methods are commonly used diagnostic tools for detecting Toxoplasma infections. They are also used for slaughterhouse-based serological monitoring of toxoplasmosis in pigs to identify positive farms. The methods used are non-standardised with varying sensitivity and specificity. In our study, four commercial ELISA tests for the detection of Toxoplasma antibodies in the meat juice of slaughter pigs were compared with a modified agglutination test (MAT) as a reference. The cut-off values of the ELISA tests provided by the manufacturer varied between 0.20 and 0.50, and clearly influenced prevalence. The sensitivity of tests I, II and III varied between 96.4 and 78.6. Sensitivity was unacceptably low (3.6) for test IV (cut-off=0.30). Tests I, II and III had the highest accuracy and the best agreement with the reference test when a cut-off of 0.30 was used. Test II and III showed very good agreement (K=0.92 and 0.84, respectively) with the MAT. A very strong correlation (Pearson correlation >0.89) was observed between the S/P values of tests I, II and III. Our results demonstrate that the test and cut-off value used influence the results of the apparent seroprevalence studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Oral rapid test: an alternative to traditional HIV screening in Chile

    PubMed Central

    Irarrazábal, Lisette Paola; Ferrer, Lilian; Cianelli, Rosina; Lara, Loreto; Reed, Reiley; Levy, Judith; Pérez, Carlos

    2016-01-01

    Objective To compare the sensitivity and specificity of an Oral Rapid Test (ORT) to that of the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for HIV testing in Santiago, Chile; to track the number of study participants returning for ELISA testing results; and to analyze the participants’ perceptions of the ORT compared to the ELISA. Methods A total of 497 people were recruited in Santiago, Chile: 153 had previously tested positive for HIV, and 344 were of unknown status. Participants were tested for HIV using both the ELISA and the ORT to examine and compare specificity and sensitivity. Qualitative data were collected from 22 participants to compare perceptions of the testing experience with ORT versus ELISA. Results The ELISA reported 184 (37%) of the 497 participants as being “positive” for HIV antibodies; the ORT showed 181 (36.4%) as being “reactive” for HIV. The ORT showed a sensitivity of 98.4% (95.7%–99.9%, 95% Confidence Interval) and specificity of 100%. The Kappa test produced K = 0.983 (P < 0.0001). Of the 344 participants whose HIV status was unknown at the start of the study, 55 failed to return for their ELISA results. Participants positively perceived ORT as having reduced both waiting time and anxiety over obtaining their test results. ORT oral swabbing appeared more practical and less invasive than drawing blood for the ELISA. Conclusions The ORT and ELISA were statistically equal in specificity and sensitivity. ORT provides quicker results, potentially ensuring that more people receive them, and does not require handling of or exposure to potentially hazardous blood products. PMID:23939368

  9. Test/QA Plan for Verification of Microcystin Test Kits

    EPA Science Inventory

    Microcystin test kits are used to quantitatively measure total microcystin in recreational waters. These test kits are based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) with antibodies that bind specifically to microcystins or phosphate activity inhibition where the phosphatas...

  10. Usefulness of a single-assay chemiluminescence test (Tularaemia VIRCLIA IgG + IgM monotest) for the diagnosis of human tularemia. Comparison of five serological tests.

    PubMed

    Cubero, África; Durántez, Carlos; Almaraz, Ana; Fernández-Lago, Luis; Gutiérrez, María P; Castro, María J; Bratos, Miguel A; Simarro, María; March, Gabriel A; Orduña, Antonio

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this work was to ascertain the usefulness of a new commercially-available single-assay chemiluminescence test (CHT) for the diagnosis of human tularemia (Tularaemia VIRCLIA IgG + IgM monotest, Vircell, Santa Fe, Granada, Spain). A total of 773 sera from 773 patients including 364 initial sera from patients with diagnosed tularemia, patients with suspected tularemia not confirmed (100), healthy people (152), patients with serology positive to Brucella (97), patients diagnosed with other infectious diseases (30), and patients diagnosed with autoimmune diseases (30) were included. All sera were tested by CHT, "in-house" microagglutination test (MAT), immunochromatographic test (ICT) (Virapid Tularaemia, Vircell, Santa Fe Granada, Spain), and "in-house" ELISA IgG, and ELISA IgM. Of the total initial sera, 334 (sensitivity 91.8%) were positive in the CHT, 332 (sensitivity 91.2%) in the MAT, 330 (sensitivity 90.7%) in the ICT, and 328 (sensitivity 90.1%) in the ELISA IgG and ELISA IgM tests. The specificity of the CHT was 96.7%; of the MAT, 100%; of the ICT, 98.7%; and of the ELISA IgG and ELISA IgM, 97.4%. In the group of patients with serology positive to Brucella, at least 12.4% of sera were positive in tularemia tests (12.4% in ELISA IgM, 13.4% in MAT, 14.4% in ICT, and 15.5% in CHT and ELISA IgG). In conclusion, CHT presents a sensitivity and specificity in early diagnosis of human tularemia, similar to MAT, ICT, and ELISA IgG and ELISA IgM. Its single assay design allows lower costs, especially in areas of low endemicity or inter-epidemic periods.

  11. Comparison between available serologic tests for detecting antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi in horses in Canada.

    PubMed

    Schvartz, Gili; Epp, Tasha; Burgess, Hilary J; Chilton, Neil B; Lohmann, Katharina L

    2015-07-01

    To investigate the agreement between available serologic tests for the detection of antibodies against Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi, 50 serum samples from horses of unknown clinical status and at low risk for infection were tested. In addition to a point-of-care enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (pocELISA), the evaluated tests included 2 indirect fluorescent antibody tests (IFATs) for antibodies against A. phagocytophilum and an IFAT, an ELISA confirmed with Western blot, and the Lyme multiplex assay for antibodies against B. burgdorferi. For each pair-wise comparison between serologic tests, the difference in the proportion of seropositive results as well as kappa and the prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa were calculated. The proportion of seropositive results differed significantly in each pairwise comparison of tests for detection of antibodies against A. phagocytophilum, and between the pocELISA and IFAT as well as between the pocELISA and Lyme multiplex assay for detection of antibodies against B. burgdorferi. Agreement based on kappa varied from poor to fair while agreement was improved when evaluating prevalence-adjusted, bias-adjusted kappa. Lack of agreement may be explained by differences in methodology between the evaluated tests, cross-reactivity or false-positive and false-negative tests. In addition to the limitations of serologic test interpretation in the absence of clinical disease, this data suggest that screening of horses for exposure to tick-borne diseases in nonendemic areas may not be warranted. © 2015 The Author(s).

  12. Reliability of techniques used in the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis by the national control program in Brazil: A survey in an area of recent transmission.

    PubMed

    Belo, Vinícius Silva; Gregório, Eliana Aparecida; Teixeira-Neto, Rafael Gonçalves; da Rocha Lima, Ana Cristina Vianna Mariano; Pereira, Agnes Antônia Sampaio; Marcelino, Andreza Pain; Paz, Gustavo Fontes; da Silva, Eduardo Sérgio

    2017-10-01

    One of the key components of the Brazilian Program for the Control of Visceral Leishmaniasis (PCLV) is the euthanasia of Leishmania-infected canine reservoirs, the detection of which depends on a screening procedure involving a Dual Path Platform ® (DPP) immunoassay and a confirmatory enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The aims of the present study were to evaluate the reliability of these techniques in a region of recent transmission of canine VL, to follow up the seroconversion 3-4 months after the initial diagnosis of DPP reactive but ELISA indeterminate or non-reactive dogs, and to identify the species of Leishmania in circulation in the area. Each animal was submitted to DPP under field conditions, performed by municipal health workers using peripheral blood (DPP-field), to DPP under laboratory conditions using serum (DPP-lab) and to ELISA using serum. The agreements between the tests were determined using McNemar's χ 2 test, Cohen's kappa coefficient (k) at the 95% confidence interval and prevalence-adjusted bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Of the 1130 dogs examined, 74.2% were non-reactive in all three tests applied. Based on the PCLV positive-infection criterion, seroprevalence was 8.9% (101/1130) with 83.2% (84/101) of infected animals showing reactivity in all three tests while 7.8% (8/101) were reactive in DPP-field and ELISA and 8.9% (9/101) in DPP-lab and ELISA. The proportions of disagreements were substantial in all comparisons. Inter-rater reliability between DPP-field and ELISA (k=0.55; PABAK=0.78) and DPP-lab and ELISA (k=0.59; PABAK=0.81) were considered moderate, while that between DPP-field and DPP-lab (k=0.61; PABAK=0.79) was classified as marginally good. The proportion of seroconversions in DPP reactive animals that were initially ELISA indeterminate was significantly higher than in those that were DPP reactive but initially ELISA non-reactive. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis revealed the presence of Leishmania infantum, the etiologic agent of VL, in bone marrow samples from VL-infected animals. Our data showed that the techniques and protocols currently employed in the PCLV screening approach are not entirely reliable. Further consideration should be given to monitoring dogs with undetermined results in ELISA and a better training should be provided for health workers responsible for performing DPP tests applied under field conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Accuracy of five serologic tests for the follow up of Strongyloides stercoralis infection.

    PubMed

    Buonfrate, Dora; Sequi, Marco; Mejia, Rojelio; Cimino, Ruben O; Krolewiecki, Alejandro J; Albonico, Marco; Degani, Monica; Tais, Stefano; Angheben, Andrea; Requena-Mendez, Ana; Muñoz, José; Nutman, Thomas B; Bisoffi, Zeno

    2015-02-01

    Traditional faecal-based methods have poor sensitivity for the detection of S. stercoralis, therefore are inadequate for post-treatment evaluation of infected patients who should be carefully monitored to exclude the persistence of the infection. In a previous study, we demonstrated high accuracy of five serology tests for the screening and diagnosis of strongyloidiasis. Aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of the same five tests for the follow up of patients infected with S. stercoralis. Retrospective study on anonymized, cryo-preserved samples available at the Centre for Tropical Diseases (Negrar, Verona, Italy). Samples were collected before and from 3 to 12 months after treatment. The samples were tested with two commercially-available ELISA tests (IVD, Bordier), two techniques based on a recombinant antigen (NIE-ELISA and NIE-LIPS) and one in-house IFAT. The results of each test were evaluated both in relation to the results of fecal examination and to those of a composite reference standard (classifying as positive a sample with positive stools and/or at least three positive serology tests). The associations between the independent variables age and time and the dependent variable value of serological test (for all five tests), were analyzed by linear mixed-effects regression model. A high proportion of samples demonstrated for each test a seroreversion or a relevant decline (optical density/relative light units halved or decrease of at least two titers for IFAT) at follow up, results confirmed by the linear mixed effects model that showed a trend to seroreversion over time for all tests. In particular, IVD-ELISA (almost 90% samples demonstrated relevant decline) and IFAT (almost 87%) had the best performance. Considering only samples with a complete negativization, NIE-ELISA showed the best performance (72.5% seroreversion). Serology is useful for the follow up of patients infected with S. stercoralis and determining test of cure.

  14. Novel use of a N2-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA)-based identification of avian influenza.

    PubMed

    Kwon, Ji-Sun; Kim, Min-Chul; Jeong, Ok-Mi; Kang, Hyun-Mi; Song, Chang-Seon; Kwon, Jun-Hun; Lee, Youn-Jeong

    2009-05-21

    Proper vaccination with validated companion differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) tests using a vaccine containing a heterologous neuraminidase to the field virus can be effective to control avian influenza (AI). However, indirect immunofluorescent assay, the only field validated DIVA test, has limitations to be set up as high throughput screening test and the assay requires subjective interpretation of the results. To apply the DIVA strategy to the Korean H9N2 low pathogenic AI (LPAI) vaccine program and overcome these limitations, we generated a reassortant H9N8 virus (rgH9N8) vaccine using plasmid-based reverse genetics and developed a novel N2-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (N2-ELISA). The rgH9N8 vaccine showed adequate immunogenicity and protection, and the optimized N2-ELISA showed that the sensitivity was 97.0% and specificity was 96.4% compared with a hemagglutination inhibition test. In vaccination-challenge experiments in specific pathogen-free chickens, the sera of chickens vaccinated with rgH9N8 vaccine and uninfected were negative by the N2-ELISA (S/P< or =0.4), whereas infected sera with H9N2 were positive (S/P>0.4). These results suggest that the rgH9N8 vaccine and the companion DIVA test, N2-ELISA, allow the utilization of the DIVA strategy for the control of H9N2 LPAI infections in Korea.

  15. Restriction-Site-Specific PCR as a Rapid Test To Detect Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strains in Environmental Samples

    PubMed Central

    Kimura, Richard; Mandrell, Robert E.; Galland, John C.; Hyatt, Doreene; Riley, Lee W.

    2000-01-01

    Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is an important food-borne pathogen in industrialized countries. We developed a rapid and simple test for detecting E. coli O157:H7 using a method based on restriction site polymorphisms. Restriction-site-specific PCR (RSS-PCR) involves the amplification of DNA fragments using primers based on specific restriction enzyme recognition sequences, without the use of endonucleases, to generate a set of amplicons that yield “fingerprint” patterns when resolved electrophoretically on an agarose gel. The method was evaluated in a blinded study of E. coli isolates obtained from environmental samples collected at beef cattle feedyards. The 54 isolates were all initially identified by a commonly used polyclonal antibody test as belonging to O157:H7 serotype. They were retested by anti-O157 and anti-H7 monoclonal antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The RSS-PCR method identified all 28 isolates that were shown to be E. coli O157:H7 by the monoclonal antibody ELISA as belonging to the O157:H7 serotype. Of the remaining 26 ELISA-confirmed non-O157:H7 strains, the method classified 25 strains as non-O157:H7. The specificity of the RSS-PCR results correlated better with the monoclonal antibody ELISA than with the polyclonal antibody latex agglutination tests. The RSS-PCR method may be a useful test to distinguish E. coli O157:H7 from a large number of E. coli isolates from environmental samples. PMID:10831431

  16. Agreement Between Home-Based Measurement of Stool Calprotectin and ELISA Results for Monitoring Inflammatory Bowel Disease Activity.

    PubMed

    Heida, Anke; Knol, Mariska; Kobold, Anneke Muller; Bootsman, Josette; Dijkstra, Gerard; van Rheenen, Patrick F

    2017-11-01

    An increasing number of physicians use repeated measurements of stool calprotectin to monitor intestinal inflammation in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). A lateral flow-based rapid test allows patients to measure their own stool calprotectin values at home. The test comes with a software application (IBDoc; Bühlmann Laboratories AG, Schönenbuch, Switzerland) that turns a smartphone camera into a results reader. We compared results from this method with those from the hospital-based reader (Quantum Blue; Bühlmann Laboratories AG) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) analysis. In a single-center comparison study, we asked 101 participants (10 years of age or older) in the Netherlands to perform the IBDoc measurement on stool samples collected at home, from June 2015 to October 2016. Participants then sent the residual extraction fluid and a fresh specimen from the same bowel movement to our pediatric and adult IBD center at the University Medical Center Groningen, where the level of calprotectin was measured by the Quantum Blue reader and ELISA analysis, respectively. The primary outcome was the agreement of results between IBDoc and the Quantum Blue and ELISA analyses, determined by Bland-Altman plot analysis. We received 152 IBDoc results, 138 samples of residual extraction fluid for Quantum Blue analysis, and 170 fresh stool samples for ELISA analysis. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.94 for results obtained by IBDoc vs Quantum Blue and 0.85 for results obtained by IBDoc vs ELISA. At the low range of calprotectin level (<500 μg/g), 91% of IBDoc-Quantum Blue results were within the predefined limits of agreement (±100 μg/g), and 71% of IBDoc-ELISA results were in agreement. At the high range of calprotectin level (≥500 μg/g), 81% of IBDoc-Quantum Blue results were within the predefined limits of agreement (±200 μg/g) and 64% of IBDoc-ELISA results were in agreement. Measurements of fecal levels of calprotectin made with home-based lateral flow method were in agreement with measurements made by Quantum Blue and ELISA, as long as concentrations were <500 μg/g. For patients with concentrations of fecal calprotectin above this level, findings from IBDoc should be confirmed by another method. (Netherlands Trial Registration Number: NTR5133). Copyright © 2017 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Evaluation of a malaria antibody ELISA and its value in reducing potential wastage of red cell donations from blood donors exposed to malaria, with a note on a case of transfusion-transmitted malaria.

    PubMed

    Chiodini, P L; Hartley, S; Hewitt, P E; Barbara, J A; Lalloo, K; Bligh, J; Voller, A

    1997-01-01

    Blood donations are often wasted for lack of a satisfactory procedure to evaluate donors potentially exposed to malaria. We evaluated a commercial ELISA for the detection of antibodies to malaria and compared it with an immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT). When 5,311 sera from routine non-exposed donors were tested, 24 (0.45%) were positive by the ELISA, using a Plasmodium falciparum antigen. Seventeen were subjected to confirmatory testing but none were positive by IFAT. Of 1,000 donors potentially exposed in endemic areas 15 (1.5%) were repeatably reactive by ELISA. 10 of these were tested by IFAT and 2 were positive. When 150 patients attending the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London with acute malaria were tested, 73% of those infected with P. falciparum were repeatably reactive for malarial antibodies by ELISA and 56% with Plasmodium vivax. Of 88 stored clinical sera tested by both IFAT and ELISA 56 were positive by IFAT and of these 52 (93 degrees/0) were positive by ELISA. The ELISA is sufficiently sensitive and specific to screen at-risk donors. Its use could safely retrieve 40,000 red cell units currently discarded each year in Great Britain.

  18. Estimates of Mumps Seroprevalence May Be Influenced by Antibody Specificity and Serologic Method

    PubMed Central

    McGrew, Marcia; Williams, Nobia J.; Sowers, Sun B.; Bellini, William J.; Hickman, Carole J.

    2014-01-01

    Neutralizing antibodies are assumed to be essential for protection against mumps virus infection, but their measurement is labor- and time-intensive. For this reason, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are typically used to measure mumps-specific IgG levels. However, since there is poor correlation between mumps neutralization titers and ELISAs that measure the presence of mumps-specific IgG levels, ELISAs that better correlate with neutralization are needed. To address this issue, we measured mumps antibody levels by plaque reduction neutralization, by a commercial ELISA (whole-virus antigen), and by ELISAs specific for the mumps nucleoprotein and hemagglutinin. The results indicate that differences in the antibody response to the individual mumps proteins could partially explain the lack of correlation among various serologic tests. Furthermore, the data indicate that some seropositive individuals have low levels of neutralizing antibody. If neutralizing antibody is important for protection, this suggests that previous estimates of immunity based on whole-virus ELISAs may be overstated. PMID:24371258

  19. Comparison of the Diagnostic Accuracy of Three Rapid Tests for the Serodiagnosis of Hepatic Cystic Echinococcosis in Humans

    PubMed Central

    Tamarozzi, Francesca; Covini, Ilaria; Mariconti, Mara; Narra, Roberta; Tinelli, Carmine; De Silvestri, Annalisa; Manzoni, Federica; Casulli, Adriano; Ito, Akira; Neumayr, Andreas; Brunetti, Enrico

    2016-01-01

    Background The diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE) is based primarily on imaging, in particular with ultrasound for abdominal CE, complemented by serology when imaging results are unclear. In rural endemic areas, where expertise in ultrasound may be scant and conventional serology techniques are unavailable due to lack of laboratory equipment, Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) are appealing. Methodology/Principal Findings We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 3 commercial RDTs for the diagnosis of hepatic CE. Sera from 59 patients with single hepatic CE cysts in well-defined ultrasound stages (gold standard) and 25 patients with non-parasitic cysts were analyzed by RDTs VIRapid HYDATIDOSIS (Vircell, Spain), Echinococcus DIGFA (Unibiotest, China), ADAMU-CE (ICST, Japan), and by RIDASCREEN Echinococcus IgG ELISA (R-Biopharm, Germany). Sensitivity, specificity and ROC curves were compared with McNemar and t-test. For VIRapid and DIGFA, correlation between semiquantitative results and ELISA OD values were evaluated by Spearman’s coefficient. Reproducibility was assessed on 16 randomly selected sera with Cohen’s Kappa coefficient. Sensitivity and Specificity of VIRapid (74%, 96%) and ADAMU-CE (57%, 100%) did not differ from ELISA (69%, 96%) while DIGFA (72%, 72%) did (p = 0.045). ADAMU-CE was significantly less sensitive in the diagnosis of active cysts (p = 0.019) while DIGFA was significantly less specific (p = 0.014) compared to ELISA. All tests were poorly sensitive in diagnosing inactive cysts (33.3% ELISA and ADAMU-CE, 42.8% DIGFA, 47.6% VIRapid). The reproducibility of all RDTs was good-very good. Band intensity of VIRapid and DIGFA correlated with ELISA OD values (r = 0.76 and r = 0.79 respectively, p<0.001). Conclusions/Significance RDTs may be useful in resource-poor settings to complement ultrasound diagnosis of CE in uncertain cases. VIRapid test appears to perform best among the examined kits, but all tests are poorly sensitive in the presence of inactive cysts, which may pose problems with accurate diagnosis. PMID:26871432

  20. Anti-Neospora caninum and anti-Sarcocystis spp. specific antibodies cross-react with Besnoitia besnoiti and influence the serological diagnosis of bovine besnoitiosis.

    PubMed

    García-Lunar, P; Moré, G; Campero, L; Ortega-Mora, L M; Álvarez-García, G

    2015-11-30

    Bovine besnoitiosis control remains a challenge because the disease continues to spread and control relies solely on accurate diagnosis coupled to management measures. However, recent studies have reported that routinely used ELISAs may raise a high number of false-positive results. Herein, cross-reactions between Besnoitia besnoiti antigens and anti-Neospora caninum and/or anti-Sarcocystis spp.-specific antibodies were studied in an in house ELISA since N. caninum and Sarcocystis spp. are closely related parasites, and both infections are highly prevalent in cattle worldwide. The serum panel was composed of the following categories: sera from B. besnoiti-seronegative (n=75) and -seropositive cattle (n=66), B. besnoiti-based-ELISA false-positive reactors (n=96) together with N. caninum (n=36) and Sarcocystis spp. (n=42) -seropositive reference cattle sera. B. besnoiti tachyzoite based western blot (WB) results classified animals as seropositive or seronegative. Sera were analyzed for the detection of anti-N. caninum by WB and ELISA and anti-Sarcocystis spp.-specific antibodies by WB and IFAT. Those samples recognizing a Sarcocystis spp. 18-20 kDa antigenic region and N. caninum 17-18 kDa immunodominant antigen were considered to be Sarcocystis spp. and N. caninum seropositive, respectively. The category of B. besnoiti based-ELISA false-positive reactors showed the highest number of sera with specific anti-Sarcocystis spp. and anti-N. caninum antibodies (74%; 71/96), followed by the N. caninum-seropositive cattle category (52.8%; 19/36). In contrast, few B. besnoiti-seronegative and -seropositive cattle showed antibodies against Sarcocystis spp. and N. caninum (10.7%; 8/75 and 1.5%; 1/66), respectively). This study revealed that B. besnoiti false-positive ELISA results were associated not only with the presence of anti-N. caninum and anti-Sarcocystis spp. antibodies (χ(2): 78.36; p<0.0001; OR: 34.6; CI: 14-88) but also with high antibody levels against them using ELISA and IFAT tests, respectively (p<0.05; t-test). These results may explain why only some animals seropositive to Sarcocystis spp. and/or N. caninum are Besnoitia false-positive reactors. Therefore, sera meeting these requirements should be included in future validations of serological tests for bovine besnoitiosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. ELISA-BASE: An Integrated Bioinformatics Tool for Analyzing and Tracking ELISA Microarray Data

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    White, Amanda M.; Collett, James L.; Seurynck-Servoss, Shannon L.

    ELISA-BASE is an open-source database for capturing, organizing and analyzing protein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) microarray data. ELISA-BASE is an extension of the BioArray Soft-ware Environment (BASE) database system, which was developed for DNA microarrays. In order to make BASE suitable for protein microarray experiments, we developed several plugins for importing and analyzing quantitative ELISA microarray data. Most notably, our Protein Microarray Analysis Tool (ProMAT) for processing quantita-tive ELISA data is now available as a plugin to the database.

  2. Single-Tier Testing with the C6 Peptide ELISA Kit Compared with Two-Tier Testing for Lyme Disease

    PubMed Central

    Wormser, Gary P.; Schriefer, Martin; Aguero-Rosenfeld, Maria E.; Levin, Andrew; Steere, Allen C.; Nadelman, Robert B.; Nowakowski, John; Marques, Adriana; Johnson, Barbara J. B.; Dumler, J. Stephen

    2014-01-01

    Background The two-tier serologic testing protocol for Lyme disease has a number of shortcomings including low sensitivity in early disease; increased cost, time and labor; and subjectivity in the interpretation of immunoblots. Methods The diagnostic accuracy of a single-tier commercial C6 ELISA kit was compared with two-tier testing. Results The C6 ELISA was significantly more sensitive than two-tier testing with sensitivities of 66.5% (95% C.I.:61.7-71.1) and 35.2% (95%C.I.:30.6-40.1), respectively (p<0.001) in 403 sera from patients with erythema migrans. The C6 ELISA had sensitivity statistically comparable to two-tier testing in sera from Lyme disease patients with early neurological manifestations (88.6% vs. 77.3%, p=0.13) or arthritis (98.3% vs. 95.6%, p= 0.38). Te specificities of C6 ELISA and two-tier testing in over 2200 blood donors, patients with other conditions, and Lyme disease vaccine recipients were found to be 98.9% and 99.5%, respectively (p<0.05, 95% C.I. surrounding the 0.6 percentage point difference of 0.04 to 1.15). Conclusions Using a reference standard of two-tier testing, the C6 ELISA as a single step serodiagnostic test provided increased sensitivity in early Lyme disease with comparable sensitivity in later manifestations of Lyme disease. The C6 ELISA had slightly decreased specificity. Future studies should evaluate the performance of the C6 ELISA compared with two-tier testing in routine clinical practice. PMID:23062467

  3. Development of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to differentiate antibodies against wild-type porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome from the vaccine strain TJM-F92 based on a recombinant Nsp2 protein.

    PubMed

    Wang, X X; Wang, F X; Li, Z G; Wen, Y J; Wang, X; Song, N; Wu, H

    2018-01-01

    An accurate ELISA method to differentiate pigs infected with wild-type porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRSV) strains from vaccinated ones would help to monitor PRRSV vaccination compliance. The recombinant protein GST-d120aa derived from the continuous deletion of 120 amino acids in the non-structural protein 2 region of the modified-live vaccine strain TJM-F92 was used to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (d120-ELISA) for differentiating serum antibodies against TJM-F92 from other PRRSV strains. At the optimized cut-off value which was calculated at an S/P of 0.25, it yielded a sensitivity of 90.7% and a specificity of 95.1%. Cross-reactivity tests suggested that the d120-ELISA was PRRSV-specific. Coefficient of variations of the repeatability tests ranged between 1.41-17.02%. The results suggest that the d120-ELISA is suitable for differentiating animals infected with wild-type strains from those immunized with MLV TJM-F92. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  4. Utility of feline coronavirus antibody tests.

    PubMed

    Addie, Diane D; le Poder, Sophie; Burr, Paul; Decaro, Nicola; Graham, Elizabeth; Hofmann-Lehmann, Regina; Jarrett, Oswald; McDonald, Michael; Meli, Marina L

    2015-02-01

    Eight different tests for antibodies to feline coronavirus (FCoV) were evaluated for attributes that are important in situations in veterinary practice. We compared four indirect immunofluorescent antibody tests (IFAT), one enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (FCoV Immunocomb; Biogal) and three rapid immunochromatographic (RIM) tests against a panel of samples designated by consensus as positive or negative. Specificity was 100% for all but the two IFATs based on transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), at 83.3% and 97.5%. The IFAT and ELISA tests were best for obtaining an antibody titre and for working in the presence of virus. The RIM tests were the best for obtaining a result quickly (10-15 mins); of these, the Speed F-Corona was the most sensitive, at 92.4%, followed by FASTest feline infectious peritonitis (FIP; 84.6%) and Anigen Rapid FCoV antibody test (64.1%). Sensitivity was 100% for the ELISA, one FCoV IFAT and one TGEV IFAT; and 98.2% for a second TGEV IFA and 96.1% for a second FCoV IFAT. All tests worked with effusions, even when only blood products were stipulated in the instruction manual. The ELISA and Anigen RIM tests were best for small quantities of sample. The most appropriate FCoV antibody test to use depends on the reason for testing: in excluding a diagnosis of FIP, sensitivity, specificity, small sample quantity, rapidity and ability to work in the presence of virus all matter. For FCoV screening, speed and sensitivity are important, and for FCoV elimination antibody titre is essential. © ISFM and AAFP 2014.

  5. Immunoenzyme assay of nonylphenol: study of selectivity and detection of alkylphenolic non-ionic surfactants in water samples.

    PubMed

    Mart'ianov, Andrey A; Dzantiev, Boris B; Zherdev, Anatoly V; Eremin, Sergei A; Cespedes, Raquel; Petrovic, Mira; Barcelo, Damia

    2005-01-30

    Immunoenzyme assay (ELISA) is proposed and characterized for determination of alkylphenol ethoxylates, a primary class of manufactured non-ionic surfactants. The assay is based on the obtained polyclonal antibodies against nonylphenol (NP), the main stable intermediate of the decomposition of nonylphenol ethoxylates. A mixture of non-modified branched isomers of NP was applied as hapten coupled to protein carriers by Mannich reaction with the use of formaldehyde. The proposed ELISA format is based on immobilized NP-(soybean trypsin inhibitor) conjugate as a competitor of antigen molecules contained in the tested sample for binding with specific antibodies indirectly labeled via an anti-species immunoperoxidase conjugate. The developed ELISA allows to reveal NP with the limit of detection about 10ngml(-1) and NP-related compounds such as octylphenol, alkylphenoletoxylates, alkylphenolcarboxylates and their halogenated derivatives. The ELISA was applied for assaying polluted water samples, namely influents and effluents from different wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and tap water. ELISA and chromatographic data demonstrate good correlation (r = 0.94), while ELISA gives higher values. Due to endocrine disrupting and other toxic activities of some metabolites of alkylphenolic non-ionic surfactants, the developed assay may be effectively used in ecological monitoring and sanitary control.

  6. Human hydatid disease: evaluation of an ELISA for diagnosis, population screening and monitoring of control programmes.

    PubMed

    Biffin, A H; Jones, M A; Palmer, S R

    1993-07-01

    The routine use of ELISA and complement fixation tests in the diagnosis of suspected clinical cases of hydatid disease was evaluated. In the ELISA test, dialysed and filtered sheep cyst fluid was used as antigen and two positive cut-off points--+3SD and +2SD of the mean absorbance values of the control sera--were evaluated. The predictive values of ELISA tests were 82% and 90% for positive tests, and 86% and 82% for negative tests, respectively with the two cut-off points. In a population survey of blood donors and veterinary workers in Powys, 4% and 8%, respectively, had ELISA values above the lower cut-off point. However, it would not be appropriate to use the same test for diagnostic population screening in Wales since the predictive value of the test is likely to be very low in this setting. Serological surveys with the ELISA may be of use in monitoring the progress of the South Powys Hydatid Control Programme. The use of cumulative percentages was found to be a useful method of comparing whole distributions of results in different populations.

  7. 76 FR 15791 - National Poultry Improvement Plan and Auxiliary Provisions

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-22

    ... microhemagglutination inhibition test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test,\\3\\ a polymerase chain [[Page... samplings and/or culture of reactors. \\3\\ Procedures for the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA),'' Proceedings, 30th Western Poultry Disease Conference, pp. 63-66, March 1981...

  8. Hepatitis E Virus in Wild Boar in Northwest Poland: Sensitivity of Methods of Detection.

    PubMed

    Dorn-In, Samart; Schwaiger, Karin; Twarużek, Magdalena; Grajewski, Jan; Gottschalk, Christoph; Gareis, Manfred

    2017-02-01

    In northwest Poland, 163 blood and 53 fecal samples of wild boars were collected in winter 2012/13 and 2013/14. All blood samples were tested for the presence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) ribonucleic acid (RNA) by two reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based methods and by anti-HEV IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). About 17.2% of blood samples were seropositive. One-step nested RT-PCR turned out to be too insensitive (11.6% were positive). Therefore a two-step nested RT-PCR was applied where 25.8% of the blood samples were tested positive for HEV RNA. About 50.0% of blood samples positive in ELISA were also positive in two-step nested RT-PCR. The prevalence of HEV RNA in feces was 9.4%. Based on the results of blood (ELISA, PCR) and fecal (PCR) tests, the overall prevalence of HEV in wild boars in northwest Poland was 36.8%. There was no correlation between the ELISA results and the presence of HEV RNA in plasma or in feces. According to the sequencing results of 348 bp PCR products of HEV, there were four different subtypes identified. Reports on the prevalence of HEV in wild boar populations are varying due to different sensitivities of the detection methods. However, this study reveals based on a highly sensitive method that HEV is widely spread in wild boar populations in the northwestern region of Poland and posing a potential risk to the consumer of game meat.

  9. 9 CFR 52.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Test; Fluorescent Antibody Tissue Section Test; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; Latex...

  10. 9 CFR 52.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... Test; Fluorescent Antibody Tissue Section Test; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; Latex...

  11. 9 CFR 52.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Test; Fluorescent Antibody Tissue Section Test; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; Latex...

  12. 9 CFR 52.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Test; Fluorescent Antibody Tissue Section Test; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; Latex...

  13. 9 CFR 52.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Test; Fluorescent Antibody Tissue Section Test; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; Latex...

  14. Development of 2 types of competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting antibodies to the rinderpest virus using a monoclonal antibody for a specific region of the hemagglutinin protein.

    PubMed

    Khamehchian, S; Madani, R; Rasaee, M J; Golchinfar, F; Kargar, R

    2007-06-01

    A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA) has been developed and standardized for the detection of antibodies to the rinderpest virus (RPV) in sera from cattle, sheep, and goats. The test is specific for rinderpest because it does not detect antibodies to peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV). The test depends on the ability of the monoclonal antibody (MAb) directed against the hemagglutinin (H) protein of RPV to compete with the binding of RPV antibodies in the positive serum to the H protein of this virus. This MAb recognized a region from amino acids 575 to 583 on the H protein of RPV that is unique to the RPV H protein and is not present on the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein of PPRV. Another C-ELISA (peptide C-ELISA) was set up using this specific region as an antigen. A threshold value of 64.4% inhibition was established for the RPV C-ELISA, with 90 known RPV-negative and 30 RPV-positive serum samples. Using common serum samples, a cutoff value of 43.0% inhibition for the peptide C-ELISA was established. Based on statistical analysis, the overall sensitivity and specificity of the RPV C-ELISA, relative to those of a commercial kit, were found to be 90.00% and 103.33%, respectively. However, the sensitivity and specificity of the peptide C-ELISA were found to be 180.00% and 73.33%, respectively. Although a common MAb in 2 new C-ELISA systems was used, variation in their percent inhibition, due to the use of different antigens, was observed. Taking into consideration the difference in percent inhibition of the 2 described assays and the commercial kit (50%), it was found that the RPV C-ELISA and the peptide C-ELISA are more specific and sensitive tools than the commercial kit for assessing herd immune status and for epidemiologic surveillance.

  15. Brucella melitensis VirB12 recombinant protein is a potential marker for serodiagnosis of human brucellosis.

    PubMed

    Mirkalantari, Shiva; Zarnani, Amir-Hassan; Nazari, Mahboobeh; Irajian, Gholam Reza; Amirmozafari, Nour

    2017-03-03

    The numerous drawbacks of current serological tests for diagnosis of brucellosis which mainly results from cross reactivity with LPS from other gram-negative bacteria have generated an increasing interest to find more specific non-LPS antigens. Previous studies had indicated that Brucella VirB12 protein, a cell surface protein and component of type IV secretion system, induces antibody response during animal infection. However, this protein has not yet been tested as a serological diagnostic marker in human brucellosis. Recombinant VirB12 protein was prepared and evaluated the efficacy of it in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for brucellosis with sera collected from different region of Iran and the results were compared with a commercial ELISA kit. Sera from human brucellosis patients strongly reacted to the purified recombinant VirB12. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value and positive predictive value of recombinant VirB12-based ELISA related to the commercial-ELISA method were 87.8, 94, 90, 80 and 96.6% respectively. We concluded that antigenic VirB12 have a property value that can be considered as a candidate for using in serodiagnostic tests for human brucellosis.

  16. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in wild kangaroos using an ELISA

    PubMed Central

    Parameswaran, N.; O'Handley, RM.; Grigg, ME.; Fenwick, SG.; Thompson, RCA.

    2009-01-01

    Infection with Toxoplasma gondii is a significant problem in Australian marsupials, and can lead to devastating disease and predispose animals to predation. T. gondii infection in kangaroos is also of public health significance due to the kangaroo meat trade. A moderate seroprevalence of T. gondii was observed in a study of western grey kangaroos located in the Perth metropolitan area in Western Australia. Of 219 kangaroos tested, 15.5% (95%CI: 10.7-20.3) were positive for T. gondii antibodies using an ELISA developed to detect T. gondii IgG in macropod marsupials. When compared with the commercially available MAT (modified agglutination test), the ELISA developed was in absolute agreement and yielded a κ coefficient of 1.00. Of 18 kangaroos tested for the presence of T. gondii DNA by PCR, the 9 ELISA positive kangaroos tested PCR positive and the 9 ELISA negative kangaroos tested PCR negative indicating the ELISA protocol was both highly specific and sensitive and correlated 100% with the more labour intensive PCR assay. PMID:19567231

  17. Evaluation of an Erns-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to distinguish Classical swine fever virus-infected pigs from pigs vaccinated with CP7_E2alf.

    PubMed

    Pannhorst, Katrin; Fröhlich, Andreas; Staubach, Christoph; Meyer, Denise; Blome, Sandra; Becher, Paul

    2015-07-01

    Infections with Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) are a major economic threat to pig production. To combat CSF outbreaks and to maintain trade, new marker vaccines were developed that allow differentiation of infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA principle). The chimeric pestivirus CP7_E2alf was shown to be safe and efficacious. Its DIVA strategy is based on the detection of CSFV E(rns)-specific antibodies that are only developed on infection. However, for the new marker vaccine to be considered a valuable control tool, a validated discriminatory assay is needed. One promising candidate is the already commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, PrioCHECK CSFV E(rns) ELISA (Prionics BV, Lelystad, The Netherlands). Four laboratories of different European Union member states tested 530 serum samples and country-specific field sera from domestic pigs and wild boar. The ELISA displayed a good robustness. However, based on its reproducibility and repeatability, ranges rather than single values for diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were defined. The ELISA displayed a sensitivity of 90-98% with sera from CSFV-infected domestic pigs. A specificity of 89-96% was calculated with sera from domestic pigs vaccinated once with CP7_E2alf. The ELISA detected CSFV infections in vaccinated domestic pigs with a sensitivity of 82-94%. The sensitivity was lower with sera taken ≤21 days post-challenge indicating that the stage of CSFV infection had a considerable influence on testing. Taken together, the PrioCHECK CSFV E(rns) ELISA can be used for detection of CSFV infections in CP7_E2alf-vaccinated and nonvaccinated domestic pig populations, but should only be applied on a herd basis by testing a defined number of animals. © 2015 The Author(s).

  18. Single-tier testing with the C6 peptide ELISA kit compared with two-tier testing for Lyme disease.

    PubMed

    Wormser, Gary P; Schriefer, Martin; Aguero-Rosenfeld, Maria E; Levin, Andrew; Steere, Allen C; Nadelman, Robert B; Nowakowski, John; Marques, Adriana; Johnson, Barbara J B; Dumler, J Stephen

    2013-01-01

    For the diagnosis of Lyme disease, the 2-tier serologic testing protocol for Lyme disease has a number of shortcomings including low sensitivity in early disease; increased cost, time, and labor; and subjectivity in the interpretation of immunoblots. In this study, the diagnostic accuracy of a single-tier commercial C6 ELISA kit was compared with 2-tier testing. The results showed that the C6 ELISA was significantly more sensitive than 2-tier testing with sensitivities of 66.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 61.7-71.1) and 35.2% (95% CI 30.6-40.1), respectively (P < 0.001) in 403 sera from patients with erythema migrans. The C6 ELISA had sensitivity statistically comparable to 2-tier testing in sera from Lyme disease patients with early neurologic manifestations (88.6% versus 77.3%, P = 0.13) or arthritis (98.3% versus 95.6%, P = 0.38). The specificities of C6 ELISA and 2-tier testing in over 2200 blood donors, patients with other conditions, and Lyme disease vaccine recipients were found to be 98.9% and 99.5%, respectively (P < 0.05, 95% CI surrounding the 0.6 percentage point difference of 0.04 to 1.15). In conclusion, using a reference standard of 2-tier testing, the C6 ELISA as a single-step serodiagnostic test provided increased sensitivity in early Lyme disease with comparable sensitivity in later manifestations of Lyme disease. The C6 ELISA had slightly decreased specificity. Future studies should evaluate the performance of the C6 ELISA compared with 2-tier testing in routine clinical practice. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. A review of Brucella seroprevalence among humans and animals in Bangladesh with special emphasis on epidemiology, risk factors and control opportunities.

    PubMed

    Islam, Md Ariful; Khatun, Mst Minara; Werre, Stephen R; Sriranganathan, Nammalwar; Boyle, Stephen M

    2013-10-25

    Brucellosis is a neglected bacterial zoonotic disease in many countries affecting both humans and animals. The aim of this paper is to review published reports of the seroprevalence of brucellosis in humans and animals (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and dogs) in Bangladesh. The prevalence studies are based primarily on the following serological tests: rose bengal plate agglutination test (RBT), plate agglutination test (PAT), tube agglutination test (TAT), mercaptoethanol agglutination test (MET), standard tube agglutination test (STAT), slow agglutination test (SAT), milk ring test (MRT), indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (I-ELISA), competitive ELISA (C-ELISA) and fluorescent polarization assay (FPA). Seroprevalences of brucellosis were found to be affected by the sensitivity and specificity of serological tests employed. Brucellosis prevalence varied based on occupations of people (2.5-18.6%) and species of animals (3.7% in cattle, 4.0% in buffalo, 3.6% in goats and 7.3% in sheep). The prevalence of brucellosis in humans was reported in livestock farmers (2.6-21.6%), milkers (18.6%), butchers (2.5%) and veterinarians (5.3-11.1%) who have direct contact with animal and its products or who consume raw milk. According to published reports brucellosis does affect people and livestock of Bangladesh. There is an immediate need for a concerted effort to control and eradicate brucellosis from domesticated animals in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Antigen persistence of rapid diagnostic tests in pregnant women in Nanoro, Burkina Faso, and the implications for the diagnosis of malaria in pregnancy.

    PubMed

    Kattenberg, Johanna H; Tahita, Christian M; Versteeg, Inge A J; Tinto, Halidou; Traoré-Coulibaly, Maminata; Schallig, Henk D F H; Mens, Petra F

    2012-05-01

    To evaluate persistence of several Plasmodium antigens in pregnant women after treatment and compare diagnostics during treatment follow-up. Thirty-two pregnant women (N = 32) with confirmed malaria infection by a histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2)-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and microscopy were followed for 28 days after artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). A Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH)-based RDT and two ELISAs based on the detection of dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase (DHFR-TS) and haeme detoxification protein (HDP) were compared with each other and to RT-PCR at each visit. The mean visit number (95% confidence interval) on which the HRP2-based RDT was still positive after treatment was 3.4 (2.7-4.1) visits with some patients still positive at day 28. This is significantly later than the pLDH-based RDT [0.84 (0.55-1.1)], microscopy (median 1, range 1-3), DHFR-TS-ELISA [1.7 (1.1-2.3)] and RT-PCR (median 2, range 1-5) (P < 0.05), but not significantly later than HDP-ELISA [2.1 (1.6-2.7)]. Lower gravidity and higher parasite density at day 0 resulted in significantly longer positive results with most tests (P < 0.05). HRP2 can persist up to 28 days after ACT treatment; therefore, this test is not suitable for treatment follow-up in pregnant women and can generate problems when using this test during intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp). DHFR-TS is less persistent than HRP2, making it a potentially interesting target for diagnosis. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  1. Comparing Assay Performance of ELISA and Chemiluminescence Immunoassay in Detecting Antibodies to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen

    PubMed Central

    Sagar, Siddharth; Vishwanath, Shashidhar; Banerjee, Barnini; Eshwara, Vandana Kalwaje; Chawla, Kiran

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Antibodies to Hepatitis B surface Antigen (Anti-HBs) levels are measured as markers for immune response to vaccination and in decision making for post-exposure prophylaxis against Hepatitis-B. Several immunoassay formats are used to measure Anti-HBs, thus carrying the possibility of variation in measured levels between different assays. This study compares the performance of Chemiluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) against Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) in measuring Anti-HBs titer by looking into concordance between the two test reports. Aim To compare the agreement between ELISA and CLIA in measurement of Anti–HBs antibody titers. Materials and Methods This prospective comparative study conducted at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal measured consecutive serum samples (69) sent for anti-HBs levels during May-June 2016 using both CLIA (Abbott Architect) and ELISA (Bio-Rad). Anti-HBs values of ≤10mIU/ml was considered as non-protective and >10mIU/ml as protective. The agreement between the tests in classifying the antibody titers as non-protective or protective was computed using Kappa coefficient, and the difference in individual titer values between the tests compared using Bland-Altman plot on SPSS (v.15). Results Out of the 69 samples analysed, 18 samples (26.1%) were of health-care personnel and remaining of patients. Agreement between ELISA and CLIA in identifying the antibody titers as protective and non-protective were 96.5% and 90.9% respectively, resulting in an agreement of 0.84. The coefficient-of-variation of ELISA and CLIA were 74.5% and 113.1%, respectively. Three value based discordant results were noted; two samples deemed protective by ELISA were reported as non-protective by CLIA. One non-protective titer by ELISA was reported as protective by CLIA. Conclusion Analytical agreement is good between the two immunoassays. However there are some discrepancies in quantitative measurement. This may have been due the variation in the standard calibrators used in each assay. Though CLIA showed more variation in the values, it has the advantage of being automated test with low turn around time. Therefore, both the test methodologies can be reliably used in place of each other for detection of Anti- HBs titer. PMID:28050368

  2. Diagnostic utility of CD4%:CD8 low% T-lymphocyte ratio to differentiate feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-infected from FIV-vaccinated cats.

    PubMed

    Litster, Annette; Lin, Jui-Ming; Nichols, Jamieson; Weng, Hsin-Yi

    2014-06-04

    Antibody testing based on individual risk assessments is recommended to determine feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) status, but ELISA and Western blot tests cannot distinguish between anti-FIV antibodies produced in response to natural infection and those produced in response to FIV vaccination. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the hypothesis that FIV-infected cats could be differentiated from FIV-vaccinated uninfected cats using lymphocyte subset results, specifically the CD4%:CD8(low)% T-lymphocyte ratio. Comparisons of the CD4%:CD8(low)% T-lymphocyte ratio were made among the following four groups: Group 1 - FIV-infected cats (n=61; FIV-antibody positive by ELISA and FIV PCR positive); Group 2 - FIV-uninfected cats (n=96; FIV-antibody negative by ELISA); Group 3 - FIV-vaccinated uninfected cats (n=31; FIV-antibody negative by ELISA before being vaccinated against FIV, after which they tested FIV ELISA positive); and Group 4 - FIV-uninfected but under chronic/active antigenic stimulation (n=16; FIV-antibody negative by ELISA; all had active clinical signs of either upper respiratory tract disease or gingival disease for ≥ 21 days). The median CD4%:CD8(low)% T-lymphocyte ratio was lower in Group 1 (1.39) than in each of the other three groups (Group 2 - 9.77, Group 3 - 9.72, Group 4 - 5.64; P<0.05). The CD4%:CD8(low)% T-lymphocyte ratio was also the most effective discriminator between FIV-infected cats and the other three groups, and areas under ROC curves ranged from 0.91 (compared with Group 4) to 0.96 (compared with Group 3). CD4%:CD8(low)% shows promise as an effective test to differentiate between FIV-infected cats and FIV-vaccinated uninfected cats. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Evaluation of three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for sarcoptic mange diagnosis and assessment in the Iberian ibex, Capra pyrenaica.

    PubMed

    Ráez-Bravo, Arián; Granados, José Enrique; Serrano, Emmanuel; Dellamaria, Debora; Casais, Rosa; Rossi, Luca; Puigdemont, Anna; Cano-Manuel, Francisco Javier; Fandos, Paulino; Pérez, Jesús María; Espinosa, José; Soriguer, Ramón Casimiro; Citterio, Carlo; López-Olvera, Jorge Ramón

    2016-10-21

    Sarcoptic mange is a contagious skin disease caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, affecting different mammalian species worldwide including the Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica), in which mortalities over 90 % of the population have been reported. No efficient diagnostic methods are available for this disease, particularly when there are low mite numbers and mild or no clinical signs. In this study, three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) developed for dog (ELISA A), Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica parva) (ELISA B) and Alpine chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) (ELISA C), were evaluated to detect specific antibodies (IgG) to sarcoptic mange in Iberian ibex sera. Serum samples from 131 Iberian ibexes (86 healthy and 45 scabietic) were collected from 2005 to 2012 in the Sierra Nevada Natural and National Parks (southern Spain). Based on visual inspection, ibexes were classified into one of three categories, namely healthy (without scabietic compatible lesions), mildly affected (skin lesions over less than 50 % of the body surface) and severely affected (skin lesions over more than 50 % of the body surface). The optimal cut-off point, specificity, sensitivity and the area under the curve (AUC) were calculated, and the agreement between tests was determined. Moreover, differences in the optical density (OD) related to scabies severity have been evaluated for the best test. ELISA C showed better performance than the two other tests, reaching higher values of sensitivity (93.0 %) and specificity (93.5 %) against the visual estimation of the percentage of affected skin, chosen as the gold standard. Significantly higher concentrations of specific antibodies were observed with this test in the mildly and severely infested ibexes than in healthy ones. Our results revealed that ELISA C was an optimal test to diagnose sarcoptic mange in the Iberian ibex. Further studies characterizing immune response during the course of the disease, including spontaneous or drug induced recovery, should follow in order to better understand sarcoptic mange in Iberian ibex populations.

  4. Comparison of hemagglutination inhibition test and ELISA in quantification of antibodies to egg drop syndrome virus.

    PubMed

    Raj, G Dhinakar; Ratnapraba, S; Matheswaran, K; Nachimuthu, K

    2004-01-01

    A single-serum dilution ELISA for egg drop syndrome (EDS) virus-specific antibodies was developed. In testing 425 chicken sera it was found to have a 93.6% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity relative to a hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. The correlation coefficient for ELISA and HI titers was 0.793. The ELISA was efficacious in quantification of both vaccinal and infection antibodies and could routinely be used for screening large numbers of field sera.

  5. High prevalence of HIV p24 antigen among HIV antibody negative prospective blood donors in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

    PubMed

    Japhet, Margaret Oluwatoyin; Adewumi, Moses Olubusuyi; Adesina, Olufisayo Adeyemi; Donbraye, Emmanuel

    2016-01-01

    Blood transfusion service centers in Nigeria screen donated blood for markers of HIV infection using antibody- (Ab) based rapid test and in some centers, positives are re-tested using Ab-based ELISA. Paucity of data exists on p24 antigen prevalence among HIV Ab-negative donors in Nigeria. This study aims at detecting HIV p24 antigen among prospective blood donors in Osun State, Nigeria. Prospective blood donors negative for HIV antibodies using Determine test kit were re-tested using BIORAD GENSCREEN Ultra Ag-Ab ELISA kit, a fourth-generation ELISA kit that detects HIV antibodies/p24 antigen. Of the 169 HIV Ab-negative prospective donors, 10 (5.9%) were positive for HIV p24 antigen and 70% (7/10) of them were in the age range 18-30 years. Results of this study show that blood transfusion is still one of the major routes of HIV transmission in Nigeria and a higher proportion is among youth. Inclusion of p24 antigen testing into the blood donor screening will help reduce transfusion associated HIV in Nigeria if Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) of all blood donor samples is not affordable; also, HIV enlightenment programs tailored toward youth may help reduce this rate among donors since more young people donate blood in low/middle-income countries than in high-income countries.

  6. Recombinant Antigen-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Baylisascaris procyonis Larva Migrans ▿

    PubMed Central

    Dangoudoubiyam, Sriveny; Vemulapalli, Ramesh; Ndao, Momar; Kazacos, Kevin R.

    2011-01-01

    Baylisascaris larva migrans is an important zoonotic disease caused by Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm, and is being increasingly considered in the differential diagnosis of eosinophilic meningoencephalitis in children and young adults. Although a B. procyonis excretory-secretory (BPES) antigen-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a Western blot assay are useful in the immunodiagnosis of this infection, cross-reactivity remains a major problem. Recently, a recombinant B. procyonis antigen, BpRAG1, was reported for use in the development of improved serological assays for the diagnosis of Baylisascaris larva migrans. In this study, we tested a total of 384 human patient serum samples in a BpRAG1 ELISA, including samples from 20 patients with clinical Baylisascaris larva migrans, 137 patients with other parasitic infections (8 helminth and 4 protozoan), and 227 individuals with unknown/suspected parasitic infections. A sensitivity of 85% and a specificity of 86.9% were observed with the BpRAG1 ELISA, compared to only 39.4% specificity with the BPES ELISA. In addition, the BpRAG1 ELISA had a low degree of cross-reactivity with antibodies to Toxocara infection (25%), while the BPES antigen showed 90.6% cross-reactivity. Based on these results, the BpRAG1 antigen has a high degree of sensitivity and specificity and should be very useful and reliable in the diagnosis and seroepidemiology of Baylisascaris larva migrans by ELISA. PMID:21832102

  7. 77 FR 7109 - Establishment of User Fees for Filovirus Testing of Nonhuman Primate Liver Samples

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-10

    ... assay (ELISA) or other appropriate methodology. Each specimen will be held for six months. After six... loss of the only commercially available antigen-detection ELISA filovirus testing facility. Currently... current methodology (ELISA) used to test NHP liver samples. This cost determines the amount of the user...

  8. A novel modified-indirect ELISA based on spherical body protein 4 for detecting antibody during acute and long-term infections with diverse Babesia bovis strains.

    PubMed

    Chung, Chungwon J; Suarez, Carlos E; Bandaranayaka-Mudiyanselage, Carey L; Bandaranayaka-Mudiyanselage, Chandima-Bandara; Rzepka, Joanna; Heiniger, T J; Chung, Grace; Lee, Stephen S; Adams, Ethan; Yun, Grace; Waldron, Susan J

    2017-02-13

    Cattle persistently infected with Babesia bovis are reservoirs for intra- and inter-herd transmission. Since B. bovis is considered a persistent infection, developing a reliable, high-throughput assay that detects antibody during all stages of the infection could be pivotal for establishing better control protocols. A modified indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MI-ELISA) was developed using the spherical body protein-4 (SBP4) of B. bovis to detect antibody against diverse strains through all infection stages in cattle. This SBP4 MI-ELISA was evaluated for sensitivity and specificity against field sera from regions with endemic and non-endemic B. bovis. Sera were also evaluated from cattle infected experimentally with various doses and strains during acute and persistent infection with parasitemia defined by nested PCR. The format variables for SBP4 MI-ELISA were optimized and the cutoff for positive and negative interpretation was determined based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis using B. bovis positive and negative sera tested in the reference immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The diagnostic specificity of the SBP4 MI-ELISA using IFA-negative sera collected from Texas was 100%, significantly higher than the cELISA (90.4%) based on an epitope in the rhoptry-associated protein-1 (RAP-1 cELISA). The diagnostic sensitivity of the SBP4 MI-ELISA was 98.7% using the IFA-positive sera collected from several areas of Mexico, in contrast to that of the RAP-1 cELISA at 60% using these same sera. In cattle infected with low and high doses of three B. bovis strains, the SBP4 MI-ELISA remained antibody positive for 11 months or more after initial detection at 10 to 13 days post-inoculation. However, the RAP-1 cELISA did not reliably detect antibody after eight months post-inoculation despite the fact that parasitemia was occasionally detectable by PCR. Furthermore, initial antibody detection by RAP-1 cELISA in low-dose infected animals was delayed approximately nine and a half days compared to the SBP4 MI-ELISA. These results demonstrate excellent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the novel SBP4 MI-ELISA for cattle with acute and long-term carrier infections. It is posited that use of this assay in countries that have B. bovis-endemic herds may be pivotal in preventing the spread of this disease to non-endemic herds.

  9. Comparison of in-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with gold standard in vivo mouse neutralization test for the detection of low level antibodies.

    PubMed

    Sonmez, Cemile; Coplu, Nilay; Gozalan, Aysegul; Akin, Lutfu; Esen, Berrin

    2017-06-01

    Detection of anti-tetanus antibody levels is necessary for both determination of the immune status of individuals and also for planning preventive measures. ELISA is the preferred test among in vitro tests however it can be affected by the cross reacting antibodies. A previously developed in-house ELISA test was found not reliable for the antibody levels ≤1.0IU/ml. A new method was developed to detect low antibody levels correctly. The aim of the present study was to compare the results of the newly developed in-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG ELISA test with the in vivo mouse neutralization test, for the antibody levels ≤1.0IU/ml. A total of 54 serum samples with the antibody levels of three different levels, =0.01IU/ml, 0.01-0.1IU/ml, 0.1-1IU/ml, which were detected by in vivo mouse neutralization test were studied by the newly developed in-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG ELISA test. Test was validated by using five different concentrations (0.01IU/ml, 0.06IU/ml, 0.2IU/ml, 0.5IU/ml, 1.0IU/ml). A statistically significant correlation (r 2 =0.9967 p=0,001) between in vivo mouse neutralization test and in-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG ELISA test, was observed. For the tested concentrations intra-assay, inter-assay, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and coefficients of variations were determined as ≤15%. In-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG ELISA test can be an alternative method to in vivo mouse neutralization method for the detection of levels ≤1.0IU/ml. By using in-house biotin-avidin tetanus IgG ELISA test, individuals with non protective levels, will be reliably detected. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. [Evaluation of the Performance of Two Kinds of Anti-TP Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay].

    PubMed

    Gao, Nan; Huang, Li-Qin; Wang, Rui; Jia, Jun-Jie; Wu, Shuo; Zhang, Jing; Ge, Hong-Wei

    2018-06-01

    To evaluate the accuracy and precision of 2 kinds of anti-treponema pallidum (anti-TP) ELISA reagents in our laboratory for detecting the anti-TP in voluntary blood donors, so as to provide the data support for use of ELISA reagents after introduction of chemiluminescene immunoassay (CLIA). The route detection of anti-TP was performed by using 2 kinds of ELISA reagents, then 546 responsive positive samples detected by anti-TP ELISA were collected, and the infections status of samples confirmed by treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) test was identified. The confirmed results of responsive samples detected by 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents were compared, the accuracy of 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents was analyzed by drawing ROC and comparing area under curve (AUC), and precision of 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents was compared by statistical analysis of quality control data from 7.1 2016 to 6.30 2017. There were no statistical difference in confirmed positive rate of responsive samples and weak positive samples between 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents. The responsive samples detected by 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents accounted for 85.53%(467/546) of all responsive samples, the positive rate confirmed by TPPA test was 82.87%. 44 responsive samples detected by anti-TP ELISA reagent A and 35 responsive samples detected by anti-TP ELISA reagent B were confirmed to be negative by TPPA test. Comparison of AUC showed that the accuracy of 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents was more high, the difference between 2 reagents was not statistically significant. The coefficient of variation (CV) of anti-TP ELISA reagent A and B was 14.98% and 18.04% respectively, which met the precision requirement of ELISA test. The accuracy and precision of 2 kinds of anti-TP ELISA reagents used in our laboratory are similar, and using any one of anti-TP ELISA reagents all can satisfy the requirements of blood screening.

  11. Identification of Novel Immunogenic Proteins from Mycoplasma bovis and Establishment of an Indirect ELISA Based on Recombinant E1 Beta Subunit of the Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex

    PubMed Central

    Wei, Kai; Zhang, Haiyan; Zhang, Yuewei; Xu, Jian; Jiang, Fei; Liu, Xu; Xu, Wei; Wu, Wenxue

    2014-01-01

    The pathogen Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) is a major cause of respiratory disease, mastitis, and arthritis in cattle. Screening the key immunogenic proteins and updating rapid diagnostic techniques are necessary to the prevention and control of M. bovis infection. In this study, 19 highly immunogenic proteins from M. bovis strain PD were identified using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, immunoblotting and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS. Of these 19 proteins, pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component beta subunit (PDHB) showed excellent immune reactivity and repeatability. PDHB was found to be conserved in different M. bovis isolates, as indicated by Western blot analysis. On the basis of these results, a rPDHB-based indirect ELISA (iELISA) was established for the detection of serum antibodies using prokaryotically expressed recombinant PDHB protein as the coating antigen. The specificity analysis result showed that rPDHB-based iELISA did not react with other pathogens assessed in our study except M. agalactiae (which infects sheep and goats). Moreover, 358 serum samples from several disease-affected cattle feedlots were tested using this iELISA system and a commercial kit, which gave positive rates of 50.8% and 39.9%, respectively. The estimated Kappa agreement coefficient between the two methods was 0.783. Notably, 39 positive serum samples that had been missed by the commercial kit were all found to be positive by Western blot analysis. The detection rate of rPDHB-based iELISA was significantly higher than that of the commercial kit at a serum dilution ratio of 1∶5120 to 1∶10,240 (P<0.05). Taken together, these results provide important information regarding the novel immunogenic proteins of M. bovis. The established rPDHB-based iELISA may be suitable for use as a new method of antibody detection in M. bovis. PMID:24520369

  12. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of botulinum toxin-antibodies.

    PubMed

    Dressler, Dirk; Gessler, Frank; Tacik, Pawel; Bigalke, Hans

    2014-09-01

    Antibodies against botulinum neurotoxin (BNT-AB) can be detected by the mouse protection assay (MPA), the hemidiaphragm assay (HDA), and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Both MPA and HDA require sacrifice of experimental animals, and they are technically delicate and labor intensive. We introduce a specially developed ELISA for detection of BNT-A-AB and evaluate it against the HDA. Thirty serum samples were tested by HDA and by the new ELISA. Results were compared, and receiver operating characteristic analyses were used to optimize ELISA parameter constellation to obtain either maximal overall accuracy, maximal test sensitivity, or maximal test specificity. When the ELISA is optimized for sensitivity, a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 55% can be reached. When it is optimized for specificity, a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 90% can be obtained. We present an ELISA for BNT-AB detection that can be-for the first time-customized for special purposes. Adjusted for optimal sensitivity, it reaches the best sensitivity of all BNT-AB tests available. Using the new ELISA together with the HDA as a confirmation test allows testing for BNT-AB in large numbers of patients receiving BT drugs in an economical, fast, and more animal-friendly way. © 2014 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

  13. An international collaborative study to determine the prevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia by monoclonal antibody-based cELISA.

    PubMed

    Peyraud, Armelle; Poumarat, François; Tardy, Florence; Manso-Silván, Lucía; Hamroev, Karomatullo; Tilloev, Tillo; Amirbekov, Mullojon; Tounkara, Karim; Bodjo, Charles; Wesonga, Hezron; Nkando, Isabel Gacheri; Jenberie, Shiferaw; Yami, Martha; Cardinale, Eric; Meenowa, Deodass; Jaumally, Mahmad Reshad; Yaqub, Tahir; Shabbir, Muhammad Zubair; Mukhtar, Nadia; Halimi, Mohibullah; Ziay, Ghulam Mohammad; Schauwers, Willy; Noori, Hafizullah; Rajabi, Ali Madad; Ostrowski, Stéphane; Thiaucourt, François

    2014-02-24

    Few serological tests are available for detecting antibodies against Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The complement fixation test, the test prescribed for international trade purposes, uses a crude antigen that cross-reacts with all the other mycoplasma species of the "mycoides cluster" frequently infecting goat herds. The lack of a more specific test has been a real obstacle to the evaluation of the prevalence and economic impact of CCPP worldwide. A new competitive ELISA kit for CCPP, based on a previous blocking ELISA, was formatted at CIRAD and used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in some regions of Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Pakistan in an international collaborative study. The strict specificity of the test was confirmed in CCPP-free goat herds exposed to other mycoplasma species of the "mycoides cluster". Prevalence studies were performed across the enzootic range of the disease in Africa and Asia. Seroprevalence was estimated at 14.6% in the Afar region of Ethiopia, whereas all the herds presented for CCPP vaccination in Kenya tested positive (individual seroprevalence varied from 6 to 90% within each herd). In Mauritius, where CCPP emerged in 2009, nine of 62 herds tested positive. In Central Asia, where the disease was confirmed only recently, no positive animals were detected in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan or across the border in neighboring areas of Tajikistan, whereas seroprevalence varied between 2.7% and 44.2% in the other districts investigated and in northern Pakistan. The test was also used to monitor seroconversion in vaccinated animals. This newly formatted CCPP cELISA kit has retained the high specificity of the original kit. It can therefore be used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in countries or regions without vaccination programs. It could also be used to monitor the efficacy of vaccination campaigns as high-quality vaccines induce high rates of seroconversion.

  14. An international collaborative study to determine the prevalence of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia by monoclonal antibody-based cELISA

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Few serological tests are available for detecting antibodies against Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, the causal agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP). The complement fixation test, the test prescribed for international trade purposes, uses a crude antigen that cross-reacts with all the other mycoplasma species of the “mycoides cluster” frequently infecting goat herds. The lack of a more specific test has been a real obstacle to the evaluation of the prevalence and economic impact of CCPP worldwide. A new competitive ELISA kit for CCPP, based on a previous blocking ELISA, was formatted at CIRAD and used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in some regions of Kenya, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Tajikistan and Pakistan in an international collaborative study. Results The strict specificity of the test was confirmed in CCPP-free goat herds exposed to other mycoplasma species of the “mycoides cluster”. Prevalence studies were performed across the enzootic range of the disease in Africa and Asia. Seroprevalence was estimated at 14.6% in the Afar region of Ethiopia, whereas all the herds presented for CCPP vaccination in Kenya tested positive (individual seroprevalence varied from 6 to 90% within each herd). In Mauritius, where CCPP emerged in 2009, nine of 62 herds tested positive. In Central Asia, where the disease was confirmed only recently, no positive animals were detected in the Wakhan District of Afghanistan or across the border in neighboring areas of Tajikistan, whereas seroprevalence varied between 2.7% and 44.2% in the other districts investigated and in northern Pakistan. The test was also used to monitor seroconversion in vaccinated animals. Conclusions This newly formatted CCPP cELISA kit has retained the high specificity of the original kit. It can therefore be used to evaluate the prevalence of CCPP in countries or regions without vaccination programs. It could also be used to monitor the efficacy of vaccination campaigns as high-quality vaccines induce high rates of seroconversion. PMID:24565080

  15. Unexpectedly high leprosy seroprevalence detected using a random surveillance strategy in midwestern Brazil: A comparison of ELISA and a rapid diagnostic test

    PubMed Central

    Bernardes Filho, Fred; de Abreu, Marilda M. M.; Botini, Patrícia; Duthie, Malcolm S.; Spencer, John S.; Soares, Rosa Castália F. R.

    2017-01-01

    Background Leprosy diagnosis is mainly based on clinical evaluation, although this approach is difficult, especially for untrained physicians. We conducted a temporary campaign to detect previously unknown leprosy cases in midwestern Brazil and to compare the performance of different serological tests. Methods A mobile clinic was stationed at the main bus terminal in Brasília, Brazil. Volunteers were quizzed and given a clinical exam to allow categorization as either patients, known contacts of patients or non-contacts, and blood was collected to determine anti-PGL-I and anti-LID-1 antibody titers by ELISA and by the NDO-LID rapid test. New cases of leprosy and the impact of performing this broad random surveillance strategy were evaluated. Accuracy values and concordance between the test results were evaluated among all groups. Results Four hundred thirty-four individuals were evaluated, and 44 (10.1%) were diagnosed with leprosy. Borderline forms were the most frequent presentation. Both tests presented higher positivity in those individuals with multibacillary disease. Serological tests demonstrated specificities arround 70% for anti-PGL-1 and anti-LID ELISA; and arround 40% for NDO-LID. Sensitivities ranged from 48 to 62%. A substantial agreement between NDO-LID and ELISA with concomitant positive results was found within leprosy patients (Kappa index = 0.79 CI95% 0.36–1.22). Conclusions The unexpectedly high leprosy prevalence in this population indicates ongoing community-based exposure to Mycobacterium leprae antigens and high rates of subclinical infection. All tests showed low specificity and sensitivity values and therefore cannot be considered for use as stand-alone diagnostics. Rather, considering their positivity among MB patients and non-patients, these tests can be considered effective tools for screening and identifying individuals at high risk who might benefit from regular monitoring. PMID:28231244

  16. 9 CFR 85.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; 5. Latex Agglutination Test (LAT); and 6. Particle Concentration Fluorescence...

  17. 9 CFR 85.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; 5. Latex Agglutination Test (LAT); and 6. Particle Concentration Fluorescence...

  18. 9 CFR 85.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; 5. Latex Agglutination Test (LAT); and 6. Particle Concentration Fluorescence...

  19. 9 CFR 85.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; 5. Latex Agglutination Test (LAT); and 6. Particle Concentration Fluorescence...

  20. 9 CFR 85.1 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test, except for approved differential pseudorabies tests other than the glycoprotein I (gpI) ELISA test; 5. Latex Agglutination Test (LAT); and 6. Particle Concentration Fluorescence...

  1. Assessment of the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of an indirect ELISA kit for the diagnosis of Brucella ovis infection in rams.

    PubMed

    Praud, Anne; Champion, Jean-Luc; Corde, Yannick; Drapeau, Antoine; Meyer, Laurence; Garin-Bastuji, Bruno

    2012-07-09

    Brucella ovis causes an infectious disease responsible for infertility and subsequent economic losses in sheep production. The standard serological test to detect B. ovis infection in rams is the complement fixation test (CFT), which has imperfect sensitivity and specificity in addition to technical drawbacks. Other available tests include the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (I-ELISA) but no I-ELISA kit has been fully evaluated.The study aimed to compare an I-ELISA kit and the standard CFT. Our study was carried out on serum samples from 4599 rams from the South of France where the disease is enzootic. A Bayesian approach was used to estimate tests characteristics (diagnostic sensitivity, Se and diagnostic specificity, Sp). The tests were then studied together in order to optimise testing strategies to detect B. ovis. After optimising the cut-off values in order to avoid doubtful results without deteriorating the concordance between the results of the two tests, the I-ELISA appeared to be slightly more sensitive than CFT (Se I-ELISA=0.917 [0.822; 0.992], 95% Credibility Interval (CrI) compared to Se CFT=0.860 [0.740; 0.967], 95% CrI). However, CFT was slightly more specific than I-ELISA (Sp CFT=0.988 [0.947; 1.0], 95% CrI) compared to Sp I-ELISA =0.952 [0.901; 1.0], 95% CrI).The tests were then associated with two different interpretation schemes. The series association increased the specificity of screening and could be used for pre-movement testing in rams from uninfected flocks. The parallel association increased sequence sensitivity, thus appearing more suitable for eradicating the disease in infected flocks. The high sensitivity and acceptable specificity of this I-ELISA kit support its potential interest to avoid the limitations of CFT. The two tests could also be used together or combined with other diagnostic methods such as semen culture to improve the testing strategy. The choice of test sequence and interpretation criteria depends on the epidemiological context, screening objectives and the financial and practical constraints.

  2. Evaluation of a blocking ELISA for the detection of antibodies against Lawsonia intracellularis in pig sera.

    PubMed

    Jacobson, Magdalena; Wallgren, Per; Nordengrahn, Ann; Merza, Malik; Emanuelson, Ulf

    2011-04-01

    Lawsonia intracellularis is a common cause of chronic diarrhoea and poor performance in young growing pigs. Diagnosis of this obligate intracellular bacterium is based on the demonstration of the microbe or microbial DNA in tissue specimens or faecal samples, or the demonstration of L. intracellularis-specific antibodies in sera. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a blocking ELISA in the detection of serum antibodies to L. intracellularis, by comparison to the previously widely used immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Sera were collected from 176 pigs aged 8-12 weeks originating from 24 herds with or without problems with diarrhoea and poor performance in young growing pigs. Sera were analyzed by the blocking ELISA and by IFAT. Bayesian modelling techniques were used to account for the absence of a gold standard test and the results of the blocking ELISA was modelled against the IFAT test with a "2 dependent tests, 2 populations, no gold standard" model. At the finally selected cut-off value of percent inhibition (PI) 35, the diagnostic sensitivity of the blocking ELISA was 72% and the diagnostic specificity was 93%. The positive predictive value was 0.82 and the negative predictive value was 0.89, at the observed prevalence of 33.5%. The sensitivity and specificity as evaluated by Bayesian statistic techniques differed from that previously reported. Properties of diagnostic tests may well vary between countries, laboratories and among populations of animals. In the absence of a true gold standard, the importance of validating new methods by appropriate statistical methods and with respect to the target population must be emphasized.

  3. Histology and culture results among subjects with antibodies to CagA but no evidence of Helicobacter pylori infection with IgG ELISA.

    PubMed

    Ye, Weimin; Held, Maria; Enroth, Helena; Kraaz, Wolfgang; Engstrand, Lars; Nyrén, Olof

    2005-03-01

    Serological evidence of antibodies to cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) antigens may exist without concomitant Helicobacter pylori IgG enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) seropositivity. In a recent case-control study, this serological pattern was strongly linked to stomach cancer, and it was hypothesized to represent "burned-out" CagA-positive infections. The aim of this analysis was to test this hypothesis. We used data from a Swedish endoscopy clinic-based case-control study with 64 gastric cancer cases and 281 age-matched and gender-matched non-cancer patients who had other gastric diseases or normal endoscopy. HM-CAP ELISA and Helicoblot 2.0 immunoblot results were compared with culture and histology. Overall, 86 out of 345 (25%) subjects were CagA seropositive but ELISA seronegative. This proportion was similar among cancer and non-cancer patients. Current H. pylori infection could be verified by culture or histology in only 15% of these patients. Forty-three percent of subjects with this isolated CagA seropositivity had histological evidence of corpus and/or antral atrophy. This was higher than in those who were negative in both tests (15%), but lower than among those seropositive for both tests (53%). The percentage of isolated CagA-seropositive patients who had atrophy was similar among those with or without evidence of current infection. Although false-positive tests for CagA, or false-negative ELISA tests, may explain the serologic pattern in some of the subjects with isolated CagA seropositivity, healed infections are estimated to account for the majority. Unless the histology is often restituted after spontaneous disappearance of the infection, atrophy does not appear to be a mandatory intermediate step leading to this serology.

  4. First Detection of Antibodies Against African Swine Fever Virus in Faeces Samples.

    PubMed

    Nieto-Pelegrín, E; Rivera-Arroyo, B; Sánchez-Vizcaíno, J M

    2015-12-01

    African swine fever (ASF) is a viral, highly lethal haemorrhagic disease of swine with no available vaccine or effective treatment. Introduction of ASF into a country triggers immediate restriction measures that cause significant economic losses and threatens spread to neighbouring countries. Wild boar populations have been recently assigned an essential role in the spread of African swine fever virus (ASFV) to European countries. Therefore, effective surveillance and monitoring of wild boar populations is required, but sampling wild boar is logistically challenging and expensive. This study assessed the feasibility of detecting antibodies against ASFV in faeces for later implementation in surveillance and control programmes. Two groups of pigs were experimentally infected with an attenuated ASFV isolate Ken05, and blood, oral fluid and faecal samples were tested for the presence of viral DNA using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to monitor infection progress. Faecal samples were analysed using two indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on semipurified viral protein (vp) 72 or purified recombinant vp30 expressed in mammalian cells. Faecal samples from 9 of 10 pigs with non-haemorrhagic diarrhoea tested positive for antibodies against ASFV using the two ELISA tests that showed a positive correlation. The serum sample results from the two indirect ELISAs were compared against results from the reference ELISA technique and the immunoperoxidase test. Our findings indicate the feasibility of faecal sampling for detecting anti-ASFV antibodies, which may provide a practical non-invasive alternative for sampling wild boar populations. In conclusion, the application of these ELISA tests to faecal field samples could be particularly useful to screen for the presence of ASF in field conditions. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  5. Reassessing the Detection of B-Virus–Specific Serum Antibodies

    PubMed Central

    Katz, David; Shi, Wei; Wildes, Martin J; Krug, Peter W; Hilliard, Julia K

    2012-01-01

    B virus, a natural pathogen of macaques, can cause a fatal zoonotic disease in humans. Serologic screening of macaques by titration ELISA (tELISA, screening test) and by Western blot analysis (WBA, confirmatory test) is one of the principle measures to prevent human infection. Here we slightly modified these 2 tests and reevaluated their correlation. We developed a high-throughput tELISA and used it to screen 278 sera simultaneously against the homologous BV antigen and the heterologous antigens of Papiine herpesvirus 2 and Human herpesvirus 1. More sera (35.6%) were positive by the BV-ELISA than by the HVP2-ELISA (21.6%) or HSV1-ELISA (19.8%). The superiority of the homologous tELISA over the heterologous tELISA was prominent in low-titer sera. WBA confirmed only 21% of the tELISA-positive sera with low or intermediate antibody titers. These sera might have contained antibodies to conformational epitopes that could not be detected by WBA, in which denatured antigens are used, but that could be detected by tELISA, which detects both linear and conformational epitopes. WBA confirmed 82% of the tELISA high-titer sera. However, WBA defined the remaining 18% of sera, which were negative by tELISA, as nonnegative. This finding can be attributed to the difficulties encountered with the subjective interpretation of results by WBA. Together, the current results indicate the inadequacy of WBA as a confirmatory assay for sera with low antibody titers. PMID:23561886

  6. Evaluation of recombinant granule antigens GRA1 and GRA7 for serodiagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in dogs

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Toxoplasmosis, caused by the obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii, is an important zoonotic disease worldwide. The precise detection of T. gondii infection in dogs has important public health significance. In this study, recombinant granule antigen proteins GRA1 and GRA7 were evaluated as potential diagnostic markers for T. gondii infection in dogs by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results GRA1 and GRA7 were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant GRA1, GRA7- and Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA)-based ELISAs were developed and evaluated using the canine positive and negative serum samples for anti-T. gondii antibodies determined by modified agglutination test (MAT) and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), showing a seroprevalence of 15.1% by TLA- and GRA1-ELISA, and 15.8% by GRA7-ELISA, and no significant difference was observed (P > 0.05). When compared with the two reference assays, MAT and IFAT, the GRA7-ELISA showed the highest co-positivity and co-negativity rates. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed a largest area under curve (AUC) of 0.973 (95% CI, 0.955 to 0.991), and a highest relative sensitivity (93.2%) and specificity (94.0%) for a cut-off value of 0.809 in GRA7-ELISA. Conclusions The results of the present study showed that GRA7-ELISA is highly sensitive and specific, and GRA7 is a potential serodiagnostic marker for the detection of T. gondii infection in dogs. PMID:25016474

  7. A Colorimetric Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Detection Platform for a Point-of-Care Dengue Detection System on a Lab-on-Compact-Disc.

    PubMed

    Thiha, Aung; Ibrahim, Fatimah

    2015-05-18

    The enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is the gold standard clinical diagnostic tool for the detection and quantification of protein biomarkers. However, conventional ELISA tests have drawbacks in their requirement of time, expensive equipment and expertise for operation. Hence, for the purpose of rapid, high throughput screening and point-of-care diagnosis, researchers are miniaturizing sandwich ELISA procedures on Lab-on-a-Chip and Lab-on-Compact Disc (LOCD) platforms. This paper presents a novel integrated device to detect and interpret the ELISA test results on a LOCD platform. The system applies absorption spectrophotometry to measure the absorbance (optical density) of the sample using a monochromatic light source and optical sensor. The device performs automated analysis of the results and presents absorbance values and diagnostic test results via a graphical display or via Bluetooth to a smartphone platform which also acts as controller of the device. The efficacy of the device was evaluated by performing dengue antibody IgG ELISA on 64 hospitalized patients suspected of dengue. The results demonstrate high accuracy of the device, with 95% sensitivity and 100% specificity in detection when compared with gold standard commercial ELISA microplate readers. This sensor platform represents a significant step towards establishing ELISA as a rapid, inexpensive and automatic testing method for the purpose of point-of-care-testing (POCT) in resource-limited settings.

  8. Diagnosis of Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus infection in dairy goats by ELISA, PCR and Viral Culture.

    PubMed

    Panneum, S; Rukkwamsuk, T

    2017-03-01

    For preventive and control strategies of Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus (CAEV) infection in dairy goats, performance of the available diagnostic tests was described as one of the most important and necessary aspects. The study aimed at evaluating the diagnostic test performance, including PCR, ELISA and viral culture, for CAEV infection in dairy goats in Thailand. Blood samples of 29 dairy goats from five low- to medium-prevalence herds and one very low-prevalence herd were collected for PCR and ELISA methods. The performance of these two diagnostic methods was evaluated by comparing with cytopathic effects (CPE) in the co-cultivation of CAEV and primary synovial cells. Results indicated that sensitivity, specificity were, respectively, 69.6%, 100%, for PCR; and 95.7%, 83.3% for ELISA. The PCR assay tended to have lower sensitivity and higher specificity than ELISA. When multiple tests were applied, parallel testing provided sensitivity and specificity of 98.7% and 83.3%, while series testing showed sensitivity and specificity of 66.6% and 100% respectively. These results indicated that combination of ELISA and PCR provided some advantages and possibly offered optimal methods to detect CAEV-infected goats. Kappa value of the agreement between PCR and ELISA test was 0.34, indicating fair agreement. Regarding the possibility of antigenic variation between CAEV strains used in both PCR and ELISA assays, the actual circulating CAEV strain should be reviewed in order to develop and enhance the diagnostic tests using the CAE viral antigens derived from specific local strains of Thailand.

  9. Evaluation of microtiter-plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the analysis of triazine and chloroacetanilide herbicides in rainfall

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pomes, M.L.; Thurman, E.M.; Aga, D.S.; Goolsby, D.A.

    1998-01-01

    Triazine and chloroacetanilide concentrations in rainfall samples collected from a 23-state region of the United States were analyzed with microtiter-plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Thirty-six percent of rainfall samples (2072 out of 5691) were confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to evaluate the operating performance of ELISA as a screening test. Comparison of ELISA to GC/MS results showed that the two ELISA methods accurately reported GC/MS results (m = 1), but with more variability evident with the triazine than with the chloroacetanilide ELISA. Bayes's rule, a standardized method to report the results of screening tests, indicated that the two ELISA methods yielded comparable predictive values (80%), but the triazine ELISA yielded a false- positive rate of 11.8% and the chloroacetanilide ELISA yielded a false- negative rate of 23.1%. The false-positive rate for the triazine ELISA may arise from cross reactivity with an unknown triazine or metabolite. The false-negative rate of the chloroacetanilide ELISA probably resulted from a combination of low sensitivity at the reporting limit of 0.15 ??g/L and a distribution characterized by 75% of the samples at or below the reporting limit of 0.15 ??g/L.Triazine and chloroacetanilide concentrations in rainfall samples collected from a 23-state region of the United States were analyzed with microtiter-plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Thirty-six percent of rainfall samples (2072 out of 5691) were confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to evaluate the operating performance of ELISA as a screening test. Comparison of ELISA to GC/MS results showed that the two ELISA methods accurately reported GC/MS results (m = 1), but with more variability evident with the triazine than with the chloroacetanilide ELISA. Bayes's rule, a standardized method to report the results of screening tests, indicated that the two ELISA methods yielded comparable predictive values (80%), but the triazine ELISA yielded a false-positive rate of 11.8% and the chloroacetanilide ELISA yielded a false-negative rate of 23.1%. The false-positive rate for the triazine ELISA may arise from cross reactivity with an unknown triazine or metabolite. The false-negative rate of the chloroacetanilide ELISA probably resulted from a combination of low sensitivity at the reporting limit of 0.15 ??g/L and a distribution characterized by 75% of the samples at or below the reporting limit of 0.15 ??g/L.

  10. Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of use of therapeutic monitoring of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors [LISA-TRACKER® enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, TNF-α-Blocker ELISA kits and Promonitor® ELISA kits] versus standard care in patients with Crohn's disease: systematic reviews and economic modelling.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Karoline; Connock, Martin; Auguste, Peter; Taylor-Phillips, Sian; Mistry, Hema; Shyangdan, Deepson; Court, Rachel; Arasaradnam, Ramesh; Sutcliffe, Paul; Clarke, Aileen

    2016-11-01

    Systematic reviews and economic modelling of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of therapeutic monitoring of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors [using LISA-TRACKER ® enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits (Theradiag, Marne La Vallee, France, or Alpha Laboratories, Heriot, UK), TNF-α-Blocker ELISA kits (Immundiagnostik AG, Bensheim, Germany) and Promonitor ® ELISA kits (Proteomika, Progenika Biopharma, Bizkaia, Spain)] versus standard care for Crohn's disease (CD). Multiple electronic databases were searched from inception to December 2014 in order to identify primary studies and meta-analyses. Patients with moderate to severe active CD treated with infliximab (IFX) (Remicade ® , Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd, Kenilworth, NJ, USA) or adalimumab (ADA) (Humira ® , AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA). Monitoring of serum anti-TNF-α (IFX or ADA) and/or of anti-drug antibody levels using test assays with a test-treatment algorithm. Standard care. Any patient-related outcome, test agreement and cost-effectiveness estimates. The quality assessments used recognised checklists (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2, Cochrane, Philips and Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards). Evidence was synthesised using narrative review and meta-analysis. A Markov model was built in TreeAge Pro 2013 (TreeAge Software, Inc., Williamstown, MA, USA). The model had a 4-week cycle and a 10-year time horizon, adopted a NHS and Personal Social Services perspective and used a linked evidence approach. Costs were adjusted to 2013/14 prices and discounted at 3.5%. We included 68 out of 2434 and 4 out of 2466 studies for the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness reviews, respectively. Twenty-three studies comparing test methods were identified. Evidence on test concordance was sparse and contradictory, offering scant data for a linked evidence approach. Three studies [two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and one retrospective observational study] investigated outcomes following implementation of a test algorithm. None used the specified commercial ELISA immunoassay test kits. Neither of the two RCTs demonstrated clinical benefit of a test-treatment regimen. A meta-analysis of 31 studies to estimate test accuracy for predicting clinical status indicated that 20-30% of test results are likely to be inaccurate. The four cost-effectiveness studies suggested that testing results in small cost reductions. In the economic analysis the base-case analysis showed that standard practice (no testing/therapeutic monitoring with the intervention tests) was more costly and more effective than testing for IFX. Sensitivity and scenario analyses gave similar results. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated a 92% likelihood that the 'no-testing' strategy was cost-effective at a willingness to pay of £20,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. Rigorous systematic reviews were undertaken; however, the underlying evidence base was poor or lacking. There was uncertainty about a linked evidence approach and a lack of gold standard for assay comparison. The only comparative evidence available for economic evaluation was for assays other than the intervention assays. Our finding that testing is not cost-effective for IFX should be viewed cautiously in view of the limited evidence. Clinicians should be mindful of variation in performance of different assays and of the absence of standardised approaches to patient assessment and treatment algorithms. There is substantial variation in the underlying treatment pathways and uncertainty in the relative effectiveness of assay- and test-based treatment algorithms, which requires further investigation. There is very little research evidence on ADA or on drug monitoring in children with CD, and conclusions on cost-effectiveness could not be reached for these. This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42014015278. The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.

  11. Evaluation of the performance of two tuberculosis interferon gamma release assays (IGRA-ELISA and T-SPOT.TB) for diagnosing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

    PubMed

    Wang, Linchuan; Tian, Xu-Dong; Yu, Yan; Chen, Wei

    2018-04-01

    The IGRA-ELISA and T-SPOT.TB are widely used in China. The aim of the study was to evaluate the performance of the two assays in diagnosis Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Of the 3727 patients in the study, 204 underwent testing using both the T-SPOT.TB and IGRA-ELISA, 1794 were tested using the T-SPOT.TB only, and 1729 were tested using the IGRA-ELISA only. The positive rate and consistency of the two assays were analyzed, and their sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing active tuberculosis were compared. There were no significant differences in the positive rate between the T-SPOT.TB test (25.8%) and IGRA-ELISA (28.6%), p = .065. The two assays were highly consistent, with a kappa value of 0.852 (p < .0001) and a total coincidence rate of 92.7%. For the diagnosis of active tuberculosis, the sensitivity and specificity values of the T-SPOT.TB test were 82.9% (107/129) and 78.6% (1309/1665), respectively, and those of IGRA-ELISA were 81.7% (94/115) and 75.2% (1214/1614), respectively. There were no significant differences in sensitivity (p > .05), but the specificity of the T-SPOT.TB test was slightly higher than that of IGRA-ELISA (p = .023). Both in terms of diagnosing M. tuberculosis infection and ruling out active tuberculosis, the performance of the IGRA-ELISA-a simple, almost labor-free assay that allows simultaneous processing of a very large number of samples-was well-matched with that of T-SPOT.TB test. However, IGRAs cannot be used as the only test to diagnose active tuberculosis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Performance of the commercially available SERION ELISA classic Echinococcus IgG test for the detection of cystic echinococcosis in clinical practice.

    PubMed

    Sarink, M J; Koelewijn, R; Slingerland, B C G C; Tielens, A G M; van Genderen, P J J; van Hellemond, J J

    2018-06-28

    Diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis (CE) is at present mainly based on imaging techniques. Serology has a complementary role, partly due to the small number of standardized and commercially available assays. Therefore we examined the clinical performance of the SERION ELISA classic Echinococcus IgG test. Using 10 U/ml as a cut-off point, and serum samples from 50 CE patients and 105 healthy controls, the sensitivity and specificity were 98.0% and 96.2%, respectively. If patients with other infectious diseases were used as negative controls, the specificity decreased to 76.9%, which causes poor positive predictive values. However, if results between 10 and 15 U/ml are classified as indecisive, the specificity of positive results (≥15 U/ml) increased to 92.5% without greatly affecting the sensitivity (92.0%). Using this approach in combination with imaging studies, the SERION ELISA classic Echinococcosis IgG test can be a useful aid in the diagnosis of CE.

  13. Prevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi in horses from Mexico

    PubMed Central

    Yeargan, Michelle R.; Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Dubey, Jitender P.; Howe, Daniel K.

    2013-01-01

    Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a debilitating disease of horses caused by Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi. Sera from 495 horses in Durango State, Mexico were tested for anti-protozoal antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on major surface antigens of these two parasites. Antibodies to S. neurona were detected in 240 (48.5%) of the 495 horse sera tested with the rSnSAG2/4/3 trivalent ELISA. Multivariate analysis showed that exposure to S. neurona was associated with age, feeding grains and crops, and small herd size. Antibodies to N. hughesi were found in 15 (3.0%) of the 495 horse sera tested with the rNhSAG1 ELISA and confirmed by Western blot of N. hughesi tachyzoite antigen. This is the first report of S. neurona and N. hughesi exposure in horses in Mexico, and it affirms that EPM should be in the differential diagnosis for horses exhibiting signs of neurologic disease in this country. PMID:24016396

  14. Cross-reactivity of antibodies with phenolic compounds in pistachios during quantification of ochratoxin A by commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits.

    PubMed

    Lee, Hyun Jung; Meldrum, Alexander D; Rivera, Nicholas; Ryu, Dojin

    2014-10-01

    Ochratoxin A (OTA), a nephrotoxic mycotoxin, naturally occurs in wide range of agricultural commodities. Typical screening of OTA involves various enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a rich source of phenolic compounds that may result in a false positive due to structural similarities to OTA. The present study investigated the cross-reactivity profiles of phenolic compounds using two commercial ELISA test kits. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to confirm the concentration of OTA in the pistachio samples and compared with the results obtained from ELISA. When the degree of interaction and 50 % inhibitory concentration of phenolic compounds were determined, the cross-reactivity showed a pattern similar to that observed with the commercial ELSIA kits, although quantitatively different. In addition, the degree of interaction increased with the increasing concentration of phenolic compounds. The ELISA value had stronger correlations with the content of total phenolic compound, gallic acid, and catechin (R(2) = 0.757, 0.732, and 0.729, respectively) compared with epicatechin (R(2) = 0.590). These results suggest that phenolic compounds in pistachio skins may cross-react with the OTA antibody and lead to a false positive or to an overestimation of OTA concentration in ELISA-based tests.

  15. Immunoglobulin M (IgM)-Glycoinositolphospholipid Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay: an Immunoenzymatic Assay for Discrimination between Patients with Acute Toxoplasmosis and Those with Persistent Parasite-Specific IgM Antibodies

    PubMed Central

    Giraldo, Mónica; Portela, Ricardo W. D.; Snege, Mirian; Leser, Paulo G.; Camargo, Mário E.; Mineo, José Roberto; Gazzinelli, Ricardo T.

    2002-01-01

    In the present study we developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure immunoglobulin M (IgM) specific for glycoinositolphospholipids (GIPL) derived from tachyzoite membrane (IgM-GIPL ELISA). The sensitivity and specificity of the assay were compared with those of commercially available Toxoplasma-specific IgM serological tests, namely, immunofluorescence assay (IFA) with fixed tachyzoites and capture ELISA employing tachyzoite extracts. Our results show that all patients with acute toxoplasmosis, as determined by clinical data and conventional serological tests, were also positive by the IgM-GIPL ELISA. Interestingly, many patients that were classified as indeterminate, who had IgG with high avidity but positive results in the IgM-specific IFA and capture ELISA, were negative by the IgM-GIPL ELISA. Finally, we tested the sera from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and various parasitic infections and found no evidence of false positives in the IgM-GIPL ELISA. PMID:11923364

  16. Development of a test for bovine tuberculosis in cattle based on measurement of gamma interferon mRNA by real-time PCR.

    PubMed

    Gan, W; Zhou, X; Yang, H; Chen, H; Qiao, J; Khan, S H; Yang, L; Yin, X; Zhao, D

    2013-08-03

    The infection status of cattle for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) was determined by real-time PCR, comparing the levels of IFN-γ mRNA in blood cultures stimulated with either bovine or avian tuberculin with non-stimulated control (phosphate buffer saline, PBS) blood culture. Totally, 137 cattle were tested to validate the assay, in which 54 were IFN-γ real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) positive, while the remaining 83 were found negative. Meanwhile, the IFN-γ ELISA test was carried out using the Bovigam IFN-γ detection ELISA kit and these results were used as a standard. The results of the single intradermal tuberculin tests (SIDT) and IFN-γ RT-qPCR tests were compared and revealed that the RT-qPCR correlated better with the ELISA and its accuracy was higher than SIDT. This indicates the RT-qPCR is a useful diagnostic method for bTB in cattle. However, several limitations remain for our approach, such as lack of a TB lesions or postmortem test results as a gold standard. Further improvements should be made in the future to increase accuracy of diagnosis of bTB in cattle.

  17. Longitudinal analysis of serological tests officially adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis in dogs vaccinated with Leishmune®.

    PubMed

    Marcondes, Mary; de Lima, Valéria Marçal Félix; de Araújo, Maria de Fátima Lereno; Hiramoto, Roberto Mitsuyoshi; Tolezano, José Eduardo; Vieira, Rafael F C; Biondo, Alexander W

    2013-11-08

    Development of vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) may provide a prophylactic barrier, but antibody response detected by standard diagnostic techniques may not separate vaccinated from naturally infected dogs. Moreover, anti-Leishmania antibody levels in vaccinated dogs may be detectable for months. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate an "in-house" ELISA with three serological tests officially adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the diagnosis of CVL in dogs vaccinated with Leishmune(®). A total of 18 mongrel dogs were submitted to a complete protocol of the vaccine, monitored and evaluated in 5 times (T0-T4) up to 180 days after T0. Twenty-one days after the first dose (T1), 50% of the dogs were seropositive by the "in-house" ELISA and 5.5% by IFAT, while by the official ELISA and DPP(®) CVL rapid test all dogs tested negative. At time T2, 42 days after of the first dose, 100%, 83.3%, 11.1%, and 5.5% of the dogs were seropositive by the "in-house" ELISA, IFAT, official ELISA kit and the DPP(®) CVL rapid test, respectively. Ninety days after the first dose (T3), 100%, 83.3%, 72.2% and 33.3% of the dogs were seropositive by the "in-house" ELISA, official ELISA kit, IFAT, and the DPP(®) CVL rapid test, respectively. Finally, at time T4, 88.8%, 33.3%, 11.1% and 5.5% of the dogs were seropositive by the "in-house" ELISA, official ELISA kit, DPP(®) CVL rapid test and IFAT, respectively. In conclusion, dogs vaccinated with Leishmune(®) cross-react by an "in-house" ELISA and by the three official Brazilian serological tests for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis up to six months after the first vaccine dose, and may be mistakenly diagnosed and removed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Comparison of recombinant cathepsins L1, L2, and L5 as ELISA targets for serodiagnosis of bovine and ovine fascioliasis.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Sernández, Victoria; Perteguer, María J; Hernández-González, Ana; Mezo, Mercedes; González-Warleta, Marta; Orbegozo-Medina, Ricardo A; Romarís, Fernanda; Paniagua, Esperanza; Gárate, Teresa; Ubeira, Florencio M

    2018-05-01

    Infections caused by Fasciola hepatica are of great importance in the veterinary field, as they cause important economic losses to livestock producers. Serodiagnostic methods, typically ELISA (with either native or recombinant antigens), are often used for early diagnosis. The use of native antigens, as in the MM3-SERO ELISA (commercialized as BIO K 211, BIO-X Diagnostics), continues to be beneficial in terms of sensitivity and specificity; however, there is interest in developing ELISA tests based on recombinant antigens to avoid the need to culture parasites. Of the antigens secreted by adult flukes, recombinant procathepsin L1 (rFhpCL1) is the most commonly tested in ELISA to date. However, although adult flukes produce three different clades of CLs (FhCL1, FhCL2, and FhCL5), to our knowledge, the diagnostic value of recombinant FhCL2 and FhCL5 has not yet been investigated. In the present study, we developed and tested three indirect ELISAs using rFhpCL1, rFhpCL2, and rFhpCL5 and evaluated their recognition by sera from sheep and cattle naturally infected with F. hepatica. Although the overall antibody response to these three rFhpCLs was similar, some animals displayed preferential recognition for particular rFhpCLs. Moreover, for cattle sera, the highest sensitivity was obtained using rFhpCL2 (97%), being equal for both rFhpCL1 and rFhpCL5 (87.9%), after adjusting cut-offs for maximum specificity. By contrast, for sheep sera, the sensitivity was 100% for the three rFhpCLs. Finally, the presence of truncated and/or partially unfolded molecules in antigen preparations is postulated as a possible source of cross-reactivity.

  19. Serodiagnosis of Human Cysticercosis by Using Antigens from Vesicular Fluid of Taenia crassiceps Cysticerci

    PubMed Central

    Bueno, Ednéia C.; Snege, Miriam; Vaz, Adelaide J.; Leser, Paulo G.

    2001-01-01

    Neurocysticercosis (NC), caused by the presence of Taenia solium metacestodes in tissues, is a severe parasitic infection of the central nervous system with universal distribution. To determine the efficiency of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot with antigens of T. crassiceps vesicular fluid (Tcra) compared to standard techniques (indirect immunofluorescence test [IFT] and complement fixation test [CFT]) using T. solium cysticerci (Tso) for the serodiagnosis of NC, we studied serum samples from 24 patients with NC, 30 supposedly healthy individuals, 76 blood bank donors, 45 individuals with other non-NC parasitoses, and 97 samples from individuals screened for cysticercosis serology (SC). The sensitivity observed was 100% for ELISA-Tso and ELISA-Tcra, 91.7% for the IFT, and 87.5% for the CFT. The specificity was 90% for ELISA-Tso, 96.7% for ELISA-Tcra, 50% for IFT, and 63.3% for CFT. The efficiency was highest for ELISA-Tcra, followed by ELISA-Tso, IFT, and CFT. Of the 23 samples from SC group, which were reactive to ELISA-Tso and/or ELISA-Tcra, only 3 were positive to immunblot-Tcra (specific peptides of 14- and 18-kDa) and to glycoprotein peptides purified from Tcra antigen (gp-Tcra), showing the low predictive value of ELISA for screening. None of the samples from the remaining groups showed specific reactivity in immunoblot-Tcra. These results demonstrate that ELISA-Tcra can be used as a screening method for the serodiagnosis of NC and support the need for specific tests for confirmation of the results. The immunoblot can be used as a confirmatory test both with Tcra and gp-Tcra, with the latter having an advantage in terms of visualization of the results. PMID:11687454

  20. The Diagnostic Accuracy of Urine-Based Xpert MTB/RIF in HIV-Infected Hospitalized Patients Who Are Smear-Negative or Sputum Scarce

    PubMed Central

    Peter, Jonathan G.; Theron, Grant; Muchinga, Tapuwa E.; Govender, Ureshnie; Dheda, Keertan

    2012-01-01

    Background Hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa are inundated with HIV-infected patients and tuberculosis (TB) is the commonest opportunistic infection in this sub-group. Up to one third of TB-HIV co-infected patients fail to produce a sputum sample (sputum scarce) and diagnosis is thus often delayed or missed. We investigated the sensitivity of urine-based methods (Xpert MTB/RIF, LAM strip test and LAM ELISA) in such patients. Methodology/Principal Findings 281 HIV-infected hospitalised patients with clinically suspected TB provided a spot urine sample. The reference standard was culture positivity for Mycobacterium tuberculosis on ≥1 sputum or extra-pulmonary sample. MTB/RIF was performed using 1 ml of both unprocessed and, when possible, concentrated urine. Each unconcentrated urine sample was also tested using the Clearview LAM ELISA and Alere LAM strip test. 42% (116/242) of patients had culture-proven TB. 18% (20/54) were sputum scarce. In sputum-scarce patients, the sensitivity of urine MTB/RIF and LAM ELISA was 40% (95%CI: 22–61) and 60% (95%CI: 39–78), respectively. Urine MTB/RIF specificity was 98% (95%CI: 95–100). Combined sensitivity of urine LAM ELISA and MTB/RIF was better than MTB/RIF alone [MTB/RIF and LAM: 70% (95%CI: 48–85) vs. MTB/RIF: 40% (95%CI: 22–61), p = 0.03]. Significant predictors of urine MTB/RIF positivity were CD4<50 cells/ml (p = 0.001), elevated protein-to-creatinine ratio (p<0.001) and LAM ELISA positivity (p<0.001). Urine centrifugation and pelleting significantly increased the sensitivity of MTB/RIF over unprocessed urine in paired samples [42% (95%CI: 26–58) vs. 8% (95%CI: 0–16), p<0.001]. Urine MTB/RIF-generated CT values correlated poorly with markers of bacillary burden (smear grade and time-to-positivity). Conclusions/Significance This preliminary study indicates that urine-based MTB/RIF, alone or in combination with LAM antigen detection, may potentially aid the diagnosis of TB in HIV-infected patients with advanced immunosuppression when sputum-based diagnosis is not possible. Concentration of urine prior to MTB/RIF-testing significantly improves sensitivity. PMID:22815718

  1. Development, evaluation, and laboratory validation of immunoassays for the diagnosis of equine infectious anemia (EIA) using recombinant protein produced from a synthetic p26 gene of EIA virus.

    PubMed

    Singha, Harisankar; Goyal, Sachin K; Malik, Praveen; Khurana, Sandip K; Singh, Raj K

    2013-12-01

    Equine infectious anemia (EIA)-a retroviral disease caused by equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV)-is a chronic, debilitating disease of horses, mules, and donkeys. EIAV infection has been reported worldwide and is recognized as pathogen of significant economic importance to the horse industry. This disease falls under regulatory control program in many countries including India. Control of EIA is based on identification of inapparent carriers by detection of antibodies to EIAV in serologic tests and "Stamping Out" policy. The current internationally accepted test for diagnosis of EIA is the agar gel immune-diffusion test (AGID), which detects antibodies to the major gag gene (p26) product. The objective of this study was to develop recombinant p26 based in-house immunoassays [enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), and AGID] for EIA diagnosis. The synthetic p26 gene of EIAV was expressed in Escherichia coli and diagnostic potential of recombinant p26 protein were evaluated in ELISA and AGID on 7,150 and 1,200 equine serum samples, respectively, and compared with commercial standard AGID kit. The relative sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed ELISA were 100 and 98.6 %, respectively. Whereas, relative sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed AGID were in complete agreement in respect to commercial AGID kit. Here, we have reported the validation of an ELISA and AGID on large number of equine serum samples using recombinant p26 protein produced from synthetic gene which does not require handling of pathogenic EIAV. Since the indigenously developed reagents would be economical than commercial diagnostic kit, the rp26 based-immunoassays could be adopted for the sero-diagnosis and control of EIA in India.

  2. The usefulness of direct agglutination test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Toxoplasma gondii in wild animals.

    PubMed

    Kornacka, Aleksandra; Cybulska, Aleksandra; Bień, Justyna; Goździk, Katarzyna; Moskwa, Bożena

    2016-09-15

    The aim of the study was to compare the usefulness of two antibody-based methods, the direct agglutination test (DAT) and enzyme linked immuosorbent assay (ELISA), with that of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detecting anti-Toxoplasma gondii in samples derived from naturally-infected wild animals. Antibodies against T. gondii were detected in meat juice samples collected from 129 free- living carnivores and omnivores. T. gondii seroprevalence was confirmed in 73,6% of examined samples when DAT and ELISA were used separately, but in only 88,4% samples when both immunological tests were used in parallel. PCR results confirmed the presence of DNA of the parasite in 24 of all the 129 samples. Sixteen samples were classified as positive when all three tests were used. A moderate degree of agreement was found between DAT and ELISA (κ=0.55). However, no agreement was found between the molecular and serological tests: κ=-1.75 for DAT versus PCR; κ=-1.67 ELISA versus PCR. By using both serological tests, antibodies against T. gondii were found in 77.5% of red foxes, 12.5% of badgers, 40% of martens and 8.3% of raccoon dogs. Antibodies against the parasite were detected also in one mink, but not in the sample derived from a polecat. T.gondii DNA was found in the brain tissue of 20 red foxes, three badgers and one raccoon dog. Our studies confirm that ELISA and DAT are suitable and reliable techniques for T. gondii antibody detection in meat juice from wild animals when serum samples are unavailable. Positive results obtained by immunological tests do not always reflect that the host was infected by T. gondii. They indicate only a contact with parasite. PCR should be used to confirm te presence of DNA from T. gondii. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Determination of trace amount of cyanobacterial toxin in water by microchip based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed

    Pyo, Dongjin; Hahn, Jong Hoon

    2009-01-01

    Routine monitoring of microcystin in natural waters is difficult because the concentration of the toxin is usually lower than the detection limits. As a more sensitive detection method for microcystin, we developed a microchip based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on monoclonal antibodies. New monoclonal antibodies against the microcystin leucine-arginine variant (MCLR), a cyclic peptide toxin of the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, were prepared from cloned hybridoma cell lines. We used keyhole limpet hemocyanin(KLH)-conjugated MCLR as an immunogen for the production of mouse monoclonal antibody. The immunization, cell fusion, and screening of hybridoma cells producing anti-MCLR antibody were conducted. Since the ELISA test was highly sensitive, the newly developed microchip based ELISA can be suitable for the trace analysis of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins, microcystins in water. The linear responses of monoclonal antibodies with different concentrations of microcystin LR were established between 0.025 and 0.3 ng/mL.

  4. Development of sandwich dot-ELISA for specific detection of Ochratoxin A and its application on to contaminated cereal grains originating from India

    PubMed Central

    Venkataramana, M.; Rashmi, R.; Uppalapati, Siva R.; Chandranayaka, S.; Balakrishna, K.; Radhika, M.; Gupta, Vijai K.; Batra, H. V.

    2015-01-01

    In the present study, generation and characterization of a highly specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Ochratoxin A (OTA) was undertaken. The generated mAb was further used to develop a simple, fast, and sensitive sandwich dot-ELISA (s-dot ELISA) method for detection of OTA from contaminated food grain samples. The limit of detection (LOD) of the developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was determined as 5.0 ng/mL of OTA. Developed method was more specific toward OTA and no cross reactivity was observed with the other tested mycotoxins such as deoxynivalenol, fumonisin B1, or aflatoxin B1. To assess the utility and reliability of the developed method, several field samples of maize, wheat and rice (n = 195) collected from different geographical regions of southern Karnataka region of India were evaluated for the OTA occurrence. Seventy two out of 195 samples (19 maize, 38 wheat, and 15 rice) were found to be contaminated by OTA by s-dot ELISA. The assay results were further co-evaluated with conventional analytical high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Results of the s-dot ELISA are in concordance with HPLC except for three samples that were negative for OTA presence by s-dot ELISA but found positive by HPLC. Although positive by HPLC, the amount of OTA in the three samples was found to be lesser than the accepted levels (>5 μg/kg) of OTA presence in cereals. Therefore, in conclusion, the developed s-dot ELISA is a better alternative for routine cereal based food and feed analysis in diagnostic labs to check the presence of OTA over existing conventional culture based, tedious analytical methods. PMID:26074899

  5. 7 CFR 301.92-12 - Testing protocols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    .... The following methodology is approved by APHIS. (a) Optional ELISA Prescreening. An APHIS-approved ELISA may be used to prescreen plant samples to determine the presence of Phytophthora spp. (1) Negative... ELISA prescreening, no further testing is required. The nursery may be considered free of evidence of...

  6. 7 CFR 301.92-12 - Testing protocols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    .... The following methodology is approved by APHIS. (a) Optional ELISA Prescreening. An APHIS-approved ELISA may be used to prescreen plant samples to determine the presence of Phytophthora spp. (1) Negative... ELISA prescreening, no further testing is required. The nursery may be considered free of evidence of...

  7. 7 CFR 301.92-12 - Testing protocols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    .... The following methodology is approved by APHIS. (a) Optional ELISA Prescreening. An APHIS-approved ELISA may be used to prescreen plant samples to determine the presence of Phytophthora spp. (1) Negative... ELISA prescreening, no further testing is required. The nursery may be considered free of evidence of...

  8. 7 CFR 301.92-12 - Testing protocols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    .... The following methodology is approved by APHIS. (a) Optional ELISA Prescreening. An APHIS-approved ELISA may be used to prescreen plant samples to determine the presence of Phytophthora spp. (1) Negative... ELISA prescreening, no further testing is required. The nursery may be considered free of evidence of...

  9. 7 CFR 301.92-12 - Testing protocols.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    .... The following methodology is approved by APHIS. (a) Optional ELISA Prescreening. An APHIS-approved ELISA may be used to prescreen plant samples to determine the presence of Phytophthora spp. (1) Negative... ELISA prescreening, no further testing is required. The nursery may be considered free of evidence of...

  10. Development of a sensitive and specific epitope-blocking ELISA for universal detection of antibodies to human enterovirus 71 strains.

    PubMed

    He, Fang; Kiener, Tanja K; Lim, Xiao Fang; Tan, Yunrui; Raj, Kattur Venkatachalam Ashok; Tang, Manli; Chow, Vincent T K; Chen, Qingfeng; Kwang, Jimmy

    2013-01-01

    Human Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a common cause of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children. It is often associated with severe neurological diseases and mortalities in recent outbreaks across the Asia Pacific region. Currently, there is no efficient universal antibody test available to detect EV71 infections. In the present study, an epitope-blocking ELISA was developed to detect specific antibodies to human EV71 viruses in human or animal sera. The assay relies on a novel monoclonal antibody (Mab 1C6) that specifically binds to capsid proteins in whole EV71 viruses without any cross reaction to any EV71 capsid protein expressed alone. The sensitivity and specificity of the epitope-blocking ELISA for EV71 was evaluated and compared to microneutralization using immunized animal sera to multiple virus genotypes of EV71 and coxsackieviruses. Further, 200 serum sample from human individuals who were potentially infected with EV71 viruses were tested in both the blocking ELISA and microneutralization. Results indicated that antibodies to EV71 were readily detected in immunized animals or human sera by the epitope blocking ELISA whereas specimens with antibodies to other enteroviruses yielded negative results. This assay is not only simpler to perform but also shows higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to microneutralization. The epitope-blocking ELISA based on a unique Mab 1C6 provided highly sensitive and 100% specific detection of antibodies to human EV71 viruses in human sera.

  11. Validation of an Anaplasma marginale cELISA for use in the diagnosis of A. ovis infections in domestic sheep and Anaplasma spp. in wild ungulates.

    PubMed

    Scoles, Glen A; Goff, Will L; Lysyk, Timothy J; Lewis, Gregory S; Knowles, Donald P

    2008-07-27

    A commercially available (cELISA) kit for diagnosing Anaplasma marginale infection in cattle was validated for diagnosing A ovis infection in sheep using the bovine serum controls as supplied by the manufacturer (BcELISA) and sheep serum controls from pathogen-free sheep (OcELISA). True positives were identified using two previously established assays, a nested PCR (nPCR) test and an indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA). The BcELISA was also applied to sera from various species of wild ruminants, comparing the results with the IFA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that the predicted threshold inhibition for the BcELISA was 19.2. The sensitivity for the BcELISA was 98.2% and the specificity was 96.3%. The predicted threshold inhibition decreased to 14.3 for the OcELISA; the sensitivity was 96.5% and the specificity was 98.1%. There was >/=90% concordance between IFA and nPCR, as well as between the BcELISA at 19% inhibition cutoff and either IFA or PCR. Concordance between the cELISA and IFA using sera from elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn antelope, and black-tailed deer ranged from 64% to 100%. This commercially available cELISA test kit can be used very effectively to test domestic sheep for infection with A. ovis using the kit-supplied controls (i.e. the BcELISA) and a 19% inhibition cutoff; the kit may also be useful for detecting intra-erythrocytic Anaplasma infections in wild ruminants.

  12. Comparative Study of rK39 Leishmania Antigen for Serodiagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis: Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Maia, Zuinara; Lírio, Monique; Mistro, Sóstenes; Mendes, Carlos Maurício Cardeal; Mehta, Sanjay R.; Badaro, Roberto

    2012-01-01

    Background The rK39 recombinant protein is derived from a specific antigen produced by the Leishmania donovani complex, and has been used in the last two decades for the serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. We present here a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating serologic assays to diagnose visceral leishmaniasis to determine the accuracy of rK39 antigen in comparison to the use of other antigen preparations. Methodology/Principal Findings A systematic review with meta-analysis of the literature was performed to compare the rK39 strip-test and ELISA formats against serological tests using promastigote antigens derived from whole or soluble parasites for Direct Aglutination Test (DAT), Indirect Immunofluorescence test (IFAT) and ELISA with a promastigote antigen preparation (p-ELISA). Gold standard diagnosis was defined by the demonstration of amastigotes on hematological specimens. A database search was performed on Medline, Lilacs, Scopus, Isi Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Quality of data was assessed using the QUADAS questionnaire. A search of the electronic databases found 352 papers of which only 14 fulfilled the selection criteria. Three evaluated the rK39 ELISA, while 13 evaluated the rK39 immunochromatographic strip test. The summarized sensitivity for the rK39-ELISA was 92% followed by IFAT 88% and p-ELISA 87%. The summarized specificity for the three diagnostic tests was 81%, 90%, and 77%. Studies comparing the rK39 strip test with DAT found a similar sensitivity of 94%, although the DAT had a slightly higher specificity. The rK39 strip test was more sensitive and specific than the IFAT and p-ELISA. We did not detect any difference in the sensitivity and specificity between strips produced by different manufacturers. Conclusions The rK39 protein used either in a strip test or in an ELISA, and the DAT are the best choices for implementation of rapid, easy and efficient test for serodiagnosis of VL. PMID:22303488

  13. Comparative study of rK39 Leishmania antigen for serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis: systematic review with meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Maia, Zuinara; Lírio, Monique; Mistro, Sóstenes; Mendes, Carlos Maurício Cardeal; Mehta, Sanjay R; Badaro, Roberto

    2012-01-01

    The rK39 recombinant protein is derived from a specific antigen produced by the Leishmania donovani complex, and has been used in the last two decades for the serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis. We present here a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies evaluating serologic assays to diagnose visceral leishmaniasis to determine the accuracy of rK39 antigen in comparison to the use of other antigen preparations. A systematic review with meta-analysis of the literature was performed to compare the rK39 strip-test and ELISA formats against serological tests using promastigote antigens derived from whole or soluble parasites for Direct Aglutination Test (DAT), Indirect Immunofluorescence test (IFAT) and ELISA with a promastigote antigen preparation (p-ELISA). Gold standard diagnosis was defined by the demonstration of amastigotes on hematological specimens. A database search was performed on Medline, Lilacs, Scopus, Isi Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Quality of data was assessed using the QUADAS questionnaire. A search of the electronic databases found 352 papers of which only 14 fulfilled the selection criteria. Three evaluated the rK39 ELISA, while 13 evaluated the rK39 immunochromatographic strip test. The summarized sensitivity for the rK39-ELISA was 92% followed by IFAT 88% and p-ELISA 87%. The summarized specificity for the three diagnostic tests was 81%, 90%, and 77%. Studies comparing the rK39 strip test with DAT found a similar sensitivity of 94%, although the DAT had a slightly higher specificity. The rK39 strip test was more sensitive and specific than the IFAT and p-ELISA. We did not detect any difference in the sensitivity and specificity between strips produced by different manufacturers. The rK39 protein used either in a strip test or in an ELISA, and the DAT are the best choices for implementation of rapid, easy and efficient test for serodiagnosis of VL.

  14. Comparison of four diagnostic tests for the identification of serum antibodies in small ruminants infected with Mycoplasma agalactiae.

    PubMed

    Kittelberger, R; O'Keefe, J S; Meynell, R; Sewell, M; Rosati, S; Lambert, M; Dufour, P; Pépin, M

    2006-02-01

    To determine the diagnostic capability of a newly developed Western blot (WB) assay for the detection of serum antibodies against Mycoplasma agalactiae compared with conventional serological tests, and to identify the best test for routine diagnostic use. The serological test methods used were: two commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), viz ELISA-1, using a bacterial antigen preparation, and ELISA-2, using a recombinant protein (lipoprotein p48) antigen; the complement fixation test (CFT); and a newly developed WB assay, the latter both using a bacterial antigen preparation. Thirty sera from goats infected with M. agalactiae and 97 sera from non-infected sheep were tested using all four methods. Staining patterns in the WB were quite variable. An immuno-dominant band of 41 kDa was detected in 63% of sera from infected animals. The same band also appeared, although mostly very weakly, in 10% of sera from non-infected animals. When suspicious or very weak reactors were omitted, the diagnostic sensitivity (DSE) and diagnostic specificity (DSP), respectively, for the four assays were: WB=56.7%, 97.9%; ELISA-1=76.7%, 99.0%; ELISA-2=56.7%, 100%; and CFT=40.0%, 94.8%. ELISA-1 performed best in this comparison. While the WB can be used, it did not have a technical advantage over the ELISA. The CFT should be discouraged as the primary screening method for contagious agalactia and should be replaced by ELISA-1. Results from this study confirm that serological test methods for contagious agalactia are useful for the detection of infected flocks but will not detect every individual infected animal.

  15. A Novel Blocking ELISA for Detection of Antibodies against Hepatitis E Virus in Domestic Pigs.

    PubMed

    Chen, Yiyang; Zhao, Qin; Liu, Baoyuan; Wang, Lizhen; Sun, Yani; Li, Huixia; Wang, Xinjie; Syed, Shahid Faraz; Zhang, Gaiping; Zhou, En-Min

    2016-01-01

    Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infects both humans and animals, with an overall human mortality rate generally less than 1%, but as high as 20% among pregnant women. HEV strains fall into 4 major genotypes. Zoonotic genotypes 3 and 4 associate with sporadic human and animal HEV cases in many industrialized countries. To date, collective evidence implicates pigs as the main HEV reservoir, justifying the importance of monitoring HEV infection rates in pig herds to prevent human illness. Due to the lack of a robust in vitro cell culture system for viral propagation, no "gold standard" assay has yet been developed to detect HEV infection in domestic pigs. 1E4, a monoclonal antibody (mAb) specific for the C-terminal 268 amino acids of HEV genotype 4 ORF2 capsid protein (sORF2-C), was generated and conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) for use in a blocking ELISA (bELISA). Optimal sORF2-C coating antigen concentration (8 μg/ml), HRP-1E4 dilution (1:1000), and test pig serum dilution (1:20) were determined using a checkerboard titration test. A cut-off value of 16.9% was chosen to differentiate between positive vs. negative sera after mean percent inhibition (PI) testing of 230 negative pig sera. Compared with the indirect ELISA (iELISA), western blot, and a commercial ELISA kit for detecting anti-HEV antibodies in human sera, the bELISA showed no statistical differences and statistically high coincidence of 93.23%, 92%, and 95% with the other tests, respectively. A blocking ELISA (bELISA) for detecting anti-HEV antibodies in pig serum samples was developed with high sensitivity and high specificity comparable to that of the indirect ELISA. The bELISA results exhibited high agreement with iELISA, western blot, and a commercial ELISA kit designed to detect human anti-HEV antibodies. Therefore, bELISA should serve as an ideal method for large-scale serological investigation of anti-HEV antibodies in domestic pigs.

  16. Cost-effectiveness of Chlamydia antibody tests in subfertile women.

    PubMed

    Fiddelers, A A A; Land, J A; Voss, G; Kessels, A G H; Severens, J L

    2005-02-01

    For the evaluation of tubal function, Chlamydia antibody testing (CAT) has been introduced as a screening test. We compared six CAT screening strategies (five CAT tests and one combination of tests), with respect to their cost-effectiveness, by using IVF pregnancy rate as outcome measure. A decision analytic model was developed based on a source population of 1715 subfertile women. The model incorporates hysterosalpingography (HSG), laparoscopy and IVF. To calculate IVF pregnancy rates, costs, effects, cost-effectiveness and incremental costs per effect of the six different CAT screening strategies were determined. pELISA Medac turned out to be the most cost-effective CAT screening strategy (15 075 per IVF pregnancy), followed by MIF Anilabsystems (15 108). A combination of tests (pELISA Medac and MIF Anilabsystems; 15 127) did not improve the cost-effectiveness of the single strategies. Sensitivity analyses showed that the results are robust for changes in the baseline values of the model parameters. Only small differences were found between the screening strategies regarding the cost-effectiveness, although pELISA Medac was the most cost-effective strategy. Before introducing a particular CAT test into clinical practice, one should consider the effects and consequences of the entire screening strategy, instead of only the diagnostic accuracy of the test used.

  17. A Colorimetric Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Detection Platform for a Point-of-Care Dengue Detection System on a Lab-on-Compact-Disc

    PubMed Central

    Thiha, Aung; Ibrahim, Fatimah

    2015-01-01

    The enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) is the gold standard clinical diagnostic tool for the detection and quantification of protein biomarkers. However, conventional ELISA tests have drawbacks in their requirement of time, expensive equipment and expertise for operation. Hence, for the purpose of rapid, high throughput screening and point-of-care diagnosis, researchers are miniaturizing sandwich ELISA procedures on Lab-on-a-Chip and Lab-on-Compact Disc (LOCD) platforms. This paper presents a novel integrated device to detect and interpret the ELISA test results on a LOCD platform. The system applies absorption spectrophotometry to measure the absorbance (optical density) of the sample using a monochromatic light source and optical sensor. The device performs automated analysis of the results and presents absorbance values and diagnostic test results via a graphical display or via Bluetooth to a smartphone platform which also acts as controller of the device. The efficacy of the device was evaluated by performing dengue antibody IgG ELISA on 64 hospitalized patients suspected of dengue. The results demonstrate high accuracy of the device, with 95% sensitivity and 100% specificity in detection when compared with gold standard commercial ELISA microplate readers. This sensor platform represents a significant step towards establishing ELISA as a rapid, inexpensive and automatic testing method for the purpose of point-of-care-testing (POCT) in resource-limited settings. PMID:25993517

  18. Varicella-zoster virus seroprevalence in children and adolescents in the pre-varicella vaccine era, Germany.

    PubMed

    Wiese-Posselt, Miriam; Siedler, Anette; Mankertz, Annette; Sauerbrei, Andreas; Hengel, Hartmut; Wichmann, Ole; Poethko-Müller, Christina

    2017-05-19

    In 2004, universal childhood varicella vaccination was introduced in Germany. We aimed to determine the age-specific prevalence of anti-varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG-antibodies among children in the pre-varicella vaccine era in Germany, to identify factors associated with VZV seropositivity, and to assess the suitability of a commercially available ELISA for VZV seroepidemiological studies by comparing it with an in-house fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen test (FAMA) as the gold standard. Serum samples of 13,433 children and adolescents aged 1-17 years included in the population-based German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS; conducted 2003-2006) were tested for anti-VZV IgG by ELISA. All samples with equivocal ELISA results and a random selection of ELISA-negative and -positive samples were tested by FAMA. Statistical analyses were conducted using a weighting factor adjusting the study population to the total population in Germany. Seroprevalences were calculated as percentages (%) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Odds ratios (OR) were computed by multivariate logistic regression to determine the association between socio-demographic factors and VZV seropositivity. The VZV seropositivity rate was 80.3% (95% CI: 79.3-81.3) in varicella-unvaccinated children and adolescents. VZV seropositivity rates differed significantly between age groups up to age 6 years, but not by gender. Of 118 retested serum samples with an equivocal ELISA result, 45.8% were FAMA-positive. The proportion of samples tested as false-negative in by ELISA varied by age group: 2.6% in children aged 1-6 and 9% in children aged 7-17 years. Multivariate analyses showed that age, having older siblings, and early daycare start were associated with seropositivity in preschoolers; migration background reduced the chance of VZV seropositivity in schoolchildren (OR: 0.65; 0.43-0.99) and adolescents (OR: 0.62; 0.4-0.97). In the pre-varicella vaccine era, most children in Germany contracted varicella by age six. Schoolchildren with a migration background and children without siblings have an increased risk of being VZV seronegative and should be targeted for catch-up vaccination, if they have no history of chickenpox. ELISAs are suitable for use in population-level serosurveys on VZV, but samples with equivocal ELISA results should be retested by FAMA.

  19. Assessment of the repeatability and border-plate effects of the B158/B60 enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay for the detection of circulating antigens (Ag-ELISA) of Taenia saginata.

    PubMed

    Jansen, Famke; Dorny, Pierre; Berkvens, Dirk; Van Hul, Anke; Van den Broeck, Nick; Makay, Caroline; Praet, Nicolas; Gabriël, Sarah

    2016-08-30

    The monoclonal antibody-based circulating antigen detecting ELISA (B158/B60 Ag-ELISA) has been used elaborately in several studies for the diagnosis of human, bovine and porcine cysticercosis. Interpretation of test results requires a good knowledge of the test characteristics, including the repeatability and the effect of the borders of the ELISA plates. Repeatability was tested for 4 antigen-negative and 5 antigen-positive reference bovine serum samples by calculating the Percentage Coefficient of Variation (%CV) within and between plates, within and between runs, overall, for two batches of monoclonal antibodies and by 2 laboratory technicians. All CV values obtained were below 20% (except one: 24.45%), which indicates a good repeatability and a negligible technician error. The value of 24.45% for indicating the variability between batches of monoclonal antibodies for one positive sample is still acceptable for repeatability measures. Border effects were determined by calculating the %CV values between the inner and outer wells of one plate for 2 positive serum samples. Variability is a little more present in the outer wells but this effect is very small and no significant border effect was found. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. DARPA Antibody Technology Program. Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 ScFv Antibody Produced by Illumina

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-08-01

    platforms. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Antibody Antibody Technology Program (ATP) Quality Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) Biosurveillance Single-chain...2.6 Thermal Stress Test............................................................................................4 2.7 ELISA ...3.5 ELISA Results .................................................................................................11 3.6 SPR Results

  1. EVALUATION AND IMPORTANCE OF SELECTED MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN BRUCELLOSIS

    PubMed Central

    Šiširak, Maida; Hukić, Mirsada

    2009-01-01

    Brucellosis is an important public health problem in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The diagnosis of bru-cellosis in the country without any experiences with this kind of infection may be very difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic methods: Rose Bengal test, blood cultures and ELISA IgM and IgG in the patients with brucellosis. The study included 91 brucellosis patients in the period 2004 to 2007. All the patients were treated at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases, University of Sarajevo Clinics Centre. Blood cultures were positive in 28/91 (30, 8%) patients. This method often needs a long period of incubation and specimens need to be obtained early. These limitations make serology the most useful tool for the laboratory diagnosis of Brucella infection. Rose Bengal is a rapid plate agglutination test, very sensitive irrespective of the stage of the disease. In our study, Rose Bengal test was positive in all patients 91/91 (100, 0%). Brucella IgM antibodies with ELISA were positive in 59/91 (64, 8%). Brucella IgG antibodies with ELISA were positive in 51/91 (56%). In order to determine the diagnostic value of the different tests, we compared the sensitivity among test-methods: Rose Bengal test-100.0%, blood culture-30.8%, ELISA IgM-64.8% and ELISA IgG-56.1%. Sensitivity of test methods was different in the different stages of illness. It is necessary to use combination of different tests such are blood culture, Rose Bengal test and ELISA in order to ensure the diagnosis. Rose Bengal test is excellent for the screening. Blood culture is a method of choice for the diagnosis acute infection. ELISA is a very good method for the diagnostic chronic disease and relapse. PMID:19754473

  2. Determination of antibody response to influenza virus surface glycoproteins by kinetic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed Central

    Snyder, M H; Banks, S; Murphy, B R

    1988-01-01

    We modified an existing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be able to use new spectrophotometers which can measure the rate of color development in microtiter wells. This new kinetic-based ELISA (KELISA) required only a single dilution of specimen rather than the multiple dilutions required with endpoint ELISA. In addition, 10- to 100-fold-less specimen was required to perform the KELISA than the ELISA. The level of serum or nasal wash antibody against surface glycoproteins of influenza A or influenza B viruses determined by KELISA was reproducible and correlated highly with the results of endpoint ELISA or hemagglutination inhibition tests. The difference between the KELISA rates, which indicated than an antibody response to infection had occurred, was defined and was analogous to a 2.2-fold rise in titer for serum and a 3.4-fold rise in titer for nasal wash determined by endpoint ELISA. The KELISA was similar to endpoint ELISAs in its ability to detect rises in antibody level in paired serum or nasal wash specimens obtained from volunteers who received live attenuated influenza A reassortant virus vaccines. By eliminating the need for multiple dilutions, the use of KELISA offers the advantage of increasing the number of assays that can be performed by the same personnel compared with endpoint ELISA, while it maintains sensitivity and specificity. PMID:3182992

  3. The cost-effectiveness of predonation screening for transfusion transmissible infections using rapid test kits in a hospital-based blood transfusion centre.

    PubMed

    Dosunmu, Adedoyin Owolabi; Akinbami, Akinsegun Abduljaleel; Ismail, Ayobami Kamal; Olaiya, Modupe Adebimpe; Uche, Ebele Ifeyinwa; Aile, Igbinoba Kingsley

    2017-01-01

    Blood transfusion practice emphasises safety, efficacy and appropriate use. These require cost-effective programme management. This study focused on the cost of screening for transfusion transmissible infections (TTI). This was a 1 year (2016) analysis of screening in a hospital-based transfusion centre. The cost of screening all blood donors by ELISA was compared to the cost of serial screening starting from rapid kit, taking into account, the estimated cost of blood bags prevented from discard after ELISA screening (attributable cost). The cost of voluntary donor drive plus cost of ELISA screening was compared with the present cost of screening. A total of 5591 donors were screened for HIV, hepatitis B and C using the rapid kit, 291 donors were deferred (5.2%). A total of 5300 units were further screened by ELISA. A total of 435 blood units (8.2%) were discarded due to TTI positivity. TTI positivity rate was 12.98%. Only 2.36% were voluntary donors and among these 9.1% were TTI positive. The attributable cost of serial screening was 55,653.5 USD while that of screening by ELISA only was 55,910 USD. The attributable cost of rapid screening for only hepatitis B and then ELISA was 53,313.9 USD taking into consideration that 187 blood units would be prevented from undue discard. This analysis demonstrated that with proper donor selection, rapid screening for hepatitis B virus only before ELISA screening is more cost-effective. This will also reduce the waiting time for donors and counselling if HIV positive.

  4. Anti-signal recognition particle autoantibody ELISA validation and clinical associations.

    PubMed

    Aggarwal, Rohit; Oddis, Chester V; Goudeau, Danielle; Fertig, Noreen; Metes, Ilinca; Stephens, Chad; Qi, Zengbiao; Koontz, Diane; Levesque, Marc C

    2015-07-01

    The aim of this study was to develop and validate a quantitative anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) autoantibody serum ELISA in patients with myositis and longitudinal association with myositis disease activity. We developed a serum ELISA using recombinant purified full-length human SRP coated on ELISA plates and a secondary antibody that bound human IgG to detect anti-SRP binding. Protein immunoprecipitation was used as the gold standard for the presence of anti-SRP. Serum samples from three groups were analysed: SRP(+) myositis subjects by immunoprecipitation, SRP(-) myositis subjects by immunoprecipitation and non-myositis controls. The ELISA's sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were evaluated. Percentage agreement and test-retest reliability were assessed. Serial samples from seven SRP immunoprecipitation-positive subjects were also tested, along with serum muscle enzymes and manual muscle testing. Using immunoprecipitation, we identified 26 SRP(+) myositis patients and 77 SRP(-) controls (including 38 patients with necrotizing myopathy). Non-myositis control patients included SLE (n = 4) and SSc (n = 7) patients. Anti-SRP positivity by ELISA showed strong agreement (97.1%) with immunoprecipitation (κ = 0.94). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the anti-SRP ELISA were 88, 100, 100 and 96, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.94, and test-retest reliability was strong (r = 0.91, P < 0.001). Serial samples showed that anti-SRP levels paralleled changes in muscle enzymes and manual muscle testing. We developed a quantitative ELISA for detecting serum anti-SRP autoantibodies and validated the assay in myositis. Longitudinal assessment of SRP levels by ELISA may be a useful biomarker for disease activity. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in southern districts of Tamil Nadu using IgG-ELISA.

    PubMed

    Sucilathangam, G; Palaniappan, N; Sreekumar, C; Anna, T

    2012-10-01

    The present study was conducted to assess the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in and around Tirunelveli by in-house IgG assay using ELISA. Serum samples from 175 immunodeficient and 175 immunocompetent patients were collected at Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu from May 2006 to October 2007. They were subjected into in-house IgG assay using enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) in which tachyzoite soluble antigen derived from solubilised whole organisms was used. Out of 350 patients tested by IgG ELISA, 46 patients (13.14%) had antibodies for toxoplasmosis with mean OD value of 0.2 ± 0.073 and the OD value ranged from 0.144 to 0.444. Among the immunocompetent group of 175 patients, 19 patients (10.86%) had antibodies to toxoplasmosis whereas, in immunodeficient group of 175 patients, 27 patients (15.43%) had antibodies for toxoplasmosis. There was no statistical difference (P > 0.05) between the immunocompetent and immunodeficient group. The sensitivity and specificity of IgG ELISA in detecting toxoplasmosis was 90 and 100%, respectively. The overall seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in and around Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu was 13.14% based on IgG ELISA. The study has proved ELISA to be a sensitive and specific procedure for the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis.

  6. Development of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for glutathione S-transferase (GST-S) protein in the intertidal copepod Tigriopus japonicus and its application for environmental monitoring.

    PubMed

    Rhee, Jae-Sung; Kim, Bo-Mi; Jeong, Chang-Bum; Leung, Kenneth Mei Yee; Park, Gyung Soo; Lee, Jae-Seong

    2013-11-01

    To utilize the GST-S protein as a useful biomarker for environmental contamination, we developed a polyclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the intertidal copepod Tigriopus japonicus. Two polyclonal antibodies, TJ-GST-S1 and TJ-GST-S2, were raised against two TJ-GST-S synthetic peptides. Also a recombinant TJ-GST-S protein was purified as a standard for ELISA development. Each polyclonal antibody was tested by Western blot analysis and indirect ELISA. Of two polyclonal antibodies, TJ-GST-S2 ELISA was further employed due to its wide range of detection and the limit of specificity compared to those of TJ-GST-S1 ELISA system. After exposure to 4 metals (Ag, As, Cd, and Cu) to T. japonicus, the amount of TJ-GST-S protein was significantly elevated in a concentration-dependent manner. Also, TJ-GST-S protein was upregulated at relative high concentrations of B[α]P, PCB, and TBT. In this paper, we suggest that T. japonicas ELISA for TJ-GST-S2 is useful as a potential indicator system for marine contaminants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Evaluation of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test against double ELISA with SD H. pylori Ag ELISA and EZ-STEP H. pylori Ag ELISA tests.

    PubMed

    Negash, Markos; Kassu, Afework; Amare, Bemnet; Yismaw, Gizachew; Moges, Beyene

    2018-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori antibody titters fall very slowly even after successful treatment. Therefore, tests detecting H. pylori antibody lack specificity and sensitivity. On the other hand, H. pylori stool antigen tests are reported as an alternative assay because of their reliability and simplicity. However, the comparative performance of H. pylori stool antigen tests for detecting the presence of the bacterium in clinical specimens in the study area is not assessed. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test with reference to the commercially available EZ- STEP ELISA and SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag ELISA tests. Stool samples were collected to analyse the diagnostic performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test kit using SD H. pylori Ag ELISA kit and EZ- STEP ELISA tests as a gold standard. Serum samples were also collected from each patient to test for the presence of H. pylori antibodies using dBest H. pylori Test Disk. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and kappa value are assessed. P values < 0.05 were taken statistically significant. Stool and serum samples were collected from 201 dyspeptic patients and analysed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test were: 95.6% (95% CI, 88.8-98.8), 92.5% (95%CI, 89-94.1%), 86.7% (95% CI, 80.5-89.6), and 97.6% (95% CI, 993.9-99.3) respectively. The performance of SD BIOLINE H. pylori Ag rapid test was better than the currently available antibody test in study area. Therefore, the SD BIOLINE Ag rapid stool test could replace and be used to diagnose active H. pylori infection before the commencement of therapy among dyspeptic patients.

  8. Marker vaccines and companion diagnostic tests for classical swine fever.

    PubMed

    Floegel-Niesmann, G

    2003-01-01

    For Classical Swine Fever (CSF) a subunit vaccine consisting of the E2 protein is commercially available. The discriminatory ELISAs detect antibodies against another viral protein, the E(rns). As CSF has already been eradicated from many countries the use of a marker vaccine in these regions can only be contemplated as emergency vaccination after a new introduction of virus. Therefore, a Large Scale Marker Vaccine Trial was financed by the EU Commission and organised by the EU Reference Laboratory for CSF in 1999. When tested under the conditions of emergency vaccination, e.g. challenge before full immunity had developed, it was shown, that most CSF challenge infections took a subclinical course with reduced virus shedding. Transplacental transmission in pregnant sows could not be prevented after an application of a single vaccine dose. The most serious deficiencies have been found in the discriminatory ELISAs. Both available tests have shown deficiencies in sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional CSF antibody ELISAs. At the time, when the trial was performed, no confirmatory test was available to verify the results of the discriminatory ELISAs. Currently two new developments of marker vaccines for CSF are in progress. A chimaeric vaccine is based on infectious clones of the conventional live vaccine (C-strain) where a gene is replaced with the corresponding gene of the closely related pestivirus Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) virus. Conversely, the E2 gene of a BVD virus can be replaced by the E2 of a virulent CSF virus. The other principle is the construction of a DNA vaccine, expressing the E2 gene after entering the host cell. Deletion mutants of the E2 gene have also been constructed and tested for their induction of immunity. Both new developments are based on the same discriminatory tests as mentioned previously and developments of other principles for discrimination are rare.

  9. An evaluation of serological tests in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in naturally infected cattle in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Chisi, Songelwayo L; Marageni, Yoanda; Naidoo, Prebashni; Zulu, Gloria; Akol, George W; Van Heerden, Henriette

    2017-02-28

    The diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) of the Rose Bengal test (RBT), the complement fixation test (CFT), the serum agglutination test (SAT), the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) and the indirect ELISA (iELISA) were determined in naturally infected cattle in KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa with known infectious status from culture (gold standard). Natural brucellosis infection status of animals was determined by culturing and identification of Brucella abortus biovar 1 from abomasal fluid, milk, hygroma fluid, lymph nodes or uterine discharges samples. The diagnostic specificity (DSp) of the tests mentioned above was determined using samples from known negative herds. There was no statistically significant difference between the tests in their ability to diagnose brucellosis. The RBT and iELISA had the highest DSe of 95.8%, whereas RBT and CFT had the highest DSp of 100%. In South African laboratories, the RBT and CFT serological tests are used, because of the cost efficacy of CFT when compared to the less labour intensive but more expensive iELISA.

  10. Antibody screening by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using pooled soluble HLA in renal transplant candidates.

    PubMed

    Zaer, F; Metz, S; Scornik, J C

    1997-01-15

    The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using HLA class I molecules purified from pooled platelets has the potential to detect HLA antibodies with increased efficiency without sacrificing sensitivity or specificity. This test, which was originally developed in our institution, has been independently validated by recent studies and is now commercially available. We now present evidence of its usefulness as a routine HLA antibody screening test for renal transplant patients. A total of 515 patients were tested monthly by ELISA (13.9 tests/patient) and by antiglobulin-enhanced panel reactivity (6.3 tests/patient). In patients found to be unsensitized, the incidence of false-positive results was less for ELISA than for the panel studies. In patients who were highly sensitized, both tests performed equally well, whereas discordant results were registered mainly in cases of mild sensitization. Because 66% of our patients were not sensitized, the ELISA was effective in reducing the number of more involved tests aimed at characterizing the antibodies. These results provide a foundation to use the pooled platelet HLA ELISA on a routine basis for HLA antibody screening.

  11. Development of Two Antibody Detection Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Serodiagnosis of Human Chronic Fascioliasis

    PubMed Central

    Cabán-Hernández, Kimberly; Gaudier, José F.; Ruiz-Jiménez, Caleb

    2014-01-01

    Coprological examination based on egg detection in stool samples is currently used as the gold standard for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. However, this method is not effective during the acute phase of the disease and has poor sensitivity during the chronic phase. Serodiagnosis has become an excellent alternative to coprological examination in efforts to combat the effects of fascioliasis on human and animal health. Two novel recombinant Fasciola hepatica proteins, i.e., a ferritin (FhFtn-1) and a tegument-associated protein (FhTP16.5), were used as antigens to develop in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. The assays were optimized and validated using 152 serum samples from humans with a known infection status, including healthy subjects, patients with chronic fascioliasis, and patients with other parasitic diseases. The FhFtn-1 ELISA was shown to be 96.6% sensitive and 95.7% specific; the respective parameters for the FhTP16.5 ELISA were 91.4% and 92.4%. The performances of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs were compared with that of an available commercial test (the DRG test) using a subset of serum samples. Our in-house tests were slightly more sensitive than the DRG test in detecting antibodies against F. hepatica, but the differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for the potential of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs as diagnostic tools for human fascioliasis, as might be implemented in conjunction with standard assays for large-scale screenings in areas where the disease is endemic and for the detection of occasional cases in clinical laboratories. PMID:24353000

  12. Development of two antibody detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for serodiagnosis of human chronic fascioliasis.

    PubMed

    Cabán-Hernández, Kimberly; Gaudier, José F; Ruiz-Jiménez, Caleb; Espino, Ana M

    2014-03-01

    Coprological examination based on egg detection in stool samples is currently used as the gold standard for the diagnosis of human fascioliasis. However, this method is not effective during the acute phase of the disease and has poor sensitivity during the chronic phase. Serodiagnosis has become an excellent alternative to coprological examination in efforts to combat the effects of fascioliasis on human and animal health. Two novel recombinant Fasciola hepatica proteins, i.e., a ferritin (FhFtn-1) and a tegument-associated protein (FhTP16.5), were used as antigens to develop in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods. The assays were optimized and validated using 152 serum samples from humans with a known infection status, including healthy subjects, patients with chronic fascioliasis, and patients with other parasitic diseases. The FhFtn-1 ELISA was shown to be 96.6% sensitive and 95.7% specific; the respective parameters for the FhTP16.5 ELISA were 91.4% and 92.4%. The performances of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs were compared with that of an available commercial test (the DRG test) using a subset of serum samples. Our in-house tests were slightly more sensitive than the DRG test in detecting antibodies against F. hepatica, but the differences were not statistically significant. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence for the potential of the FhFtn-1 and FhTP16.5 ELISAs as diagnostic tools for human fascioliasis, as might be implemented in conjunction with standard assays for large-scale screenings in areas where the disease is endemic and for the detection of occasional cases in clinical laboratories.

  13. Automatic diagnosis of tuberculosis disease based on Plasmonic ELISA and color-based image classification.

    PubMed

    AbuHassan, Kamal J; Bakhori, Noremylia M; Kusnin, Norzila; Azmi, Umi Z M; Tania, Marzia H; Evans, Benjamin A; Yusof, Nor A; Hossain, M A

    2017-07-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most devastating infectious diseases and its treatment efficiency is majorly influenced by the stage at which infection with the TB bacterium is diagnosed. The available methods for TB diagnosis are either time consuming, costly or not efficient. This study employs a signal generation mechanism for biosensing, known as Plasmonic ELISA, and computational intelligence to facilitate automatic diagnosis of TB. Plasmonic ELISA enables the detection of a few molecules of analyte by the incorporation of smart nanomaterials for better sensitivity of the developed detection system. The computational system uses k-means clustering and thresholding for image segmentation. This paper presents the results of the classification performance of the Plasmonic ELISA imaging data by using various types of classifiers. The five-fold cross-validation results show high accuracy rate (>97%) in classifying TB images using the entire data set. Future work will focus on developing an intelligent mobile-enabled expert system to diagnose TB in real-time. The intelligent system will be clinically validated and tested in collaboration with healthcare providers in Malaysia.

  14. Development of an ELISA for evaluation of swab recovery efficiencies of bovine serum albumin.

    PubMed

    Sparding, Nadja; Slotved, Hans-Christian; Nicolaisen, Gert M; Giese, Steen B; Elmlund, Jón; Steenhard, Nina R

    2014-01-01

    After a potential biological incident the sampling strategy and sample analysis are crucial for the outcome of the investigation and identification. In this study, we have developed a simple sandwich ELISA based on commercial components to quantify BSA (used as a surrogate for ricin) with a detection range of 1.32-80 ng/mL. We used the ELISA to evaluate different protein swabbing procedures (swabbing techniques and after-swabbing treatments) for two swab types: a cotton gauze swab and a flocked nylon swab. The optimal swabbing procedure for each swab type was used to obtain recovery efficiencies from different surface materials. The surface recoveries using the optimal swabbing procedure ranged from 0-60% and were significantly higher from nonporous surfaces compared to porous surfaces. In conclusion, this study presents a swabbing procedure evaluation and a simple BSA ELISA based on commercial components, which are easy to perform in a laboratory with basic facilities. The data indicate that different swabbing procedures were optimal for each of the tested swab types, and the particular swab preference depends on the surface material to be swabbed.

  15. Celiac Disease Testing (for Health Care Professionals)

    MedlinePlus

    ... diet. tTG The tTG-IgA test is an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The tTG-IgA test is the preferred ... a more expensive and time-consuming process than ELISA testing. In addition, the EMA test is qualitative, ...

  16. Evaluation of commercial ELISA kits for the detection of antibodies against bluetongue virus.

    PubMed

    Niedbalski, W

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the diagnostic value of different commercially available ELISA kits for the detection of bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies in infected and vaccinated animals. The relative specificity of ELISA kits was evaluated using a panel of sera originating from healthy cattle, never vaccinated nor exposed to BTV. All ELISA kits applied had a high relative specificity (99.3 - 100%). The relative sensitivity of ELISA kits assessed using a panel of sera collected from BTV infected cattle was also high and similar for all the kits (97.3 - 100%). However, the relative sensitivity evaluated on the basis of testing vaccinated animals was different: the highest sensitivity was found for Ingenasa, PrioCHECK and ID VET ELISAs (96.5 - 98.3%). Slightly lower sensitivity was calculated for Pourquier and LSI kits (82.8% and 85.4%, respectively) and much lower sensitivity was found for VMRD ELISA kit (69.5%). The repeatability of BTV ELISA kits was expressed as a coefficient of variation (CV) of results of sera tested 5 times in the same day and in different days by the period of 2 months, by the same person, in the same conditions, and by using the same equipment. The CVs of sera tested in all ELISA kits ranged from 6.1 to 9.8% and were below 10% threshold adopted as a maximum for the acceptable repeatability of the method. In conclusion, it can be stated that the applied ELISA kits can be a valuable diagnostic tool for the serological monitoring studies in the BTV contaminated premises. All the methods are very specific and sensitive when testing BTV infected animals. Nevertheless, the Ingenasa and PrioCHECK can be the most useful in sero-surveillance of livestock following vaccination.

  17. Decline of antibody response in indirect ELISA tests during the periparturient period caused diagnostic gaps in Coxiella burnetii and BVDV serology in pluriparous cows within a Holstein dairy herd.

    PubMed

    Walraph, J; Zoche-Golob, V; Weber, J; Freick, M

    2018-06-01

    In cattle, indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests are commonly used in serological routine diagnostics. In a longitudinal study design, changes in relative optical density (OD) from drying-off until week 11 after calving were analyzed in blood and milk samples from pluriparous dairy cows (n=21) using a commercial indirect anti-C. burnetii ELISA test. In a second part of this study, changes over time were evaluated in blood and milk samples of 11 of these cows in an indirect ELISA detecting anti-Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) antibodies. Regarding the cows which were still in the herd at the time of calving, blood serological qualitative changes from positive to negative or indeterminate were demonstrated in 7/20 cows (35%) for the anti-C. burnetii indirect ELISA and in 2/10 cows (20%) for the anti-BVDV indirect ELISA, respectively, during the period from 14days ante partum to calving. Relative OD in the anti-C. burnetii and the anti-BVDV indirect ELISA tests followed basically similar courses over time. In blood serum, relative OD initially increased after drying-off, before a drop around calving was observed. After the colostrum period, relative OD in blood serum showed an increase until week 11 of lactation. In colostrum samples, relative OD levels were higher than in milk samples obtained one day before drying-off. After parturition, relative OD in milk decreased until week 6 of lactation in the anti-C. burnetii indirect ELISA and until week 11 in the anti-BVDV indirect ELISA, respectively. In conclusion, blood serological investigations in periparturient dairy cows using indirect ELISA kits should be avoided. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Efficacy of antibiotic treatment and test-based culling strategies for eradicating brucellosis in commercial swine herds.

    PubMed

    Dieste-Pérez, L; Frankena, K; Blasco, J M; Muñoz, P M; de Jong, M C M

    2016-04-01

    Swine brucellosis caused by Brucella suis biovar 2 is an emerging disease in continental Europe. Without effective vaccines being available, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends the full depopulation of infected herds as the only strategy to eradicate B. suis outbreaks. Using data collected from 8 herds suffering natural swine brucellosis outbreaks, we assessed the efficacy of four control strategies: (i) oxytetracycline treatment only, as a default scenario, (ii) oxytetracycline treatment combined with skin testing and removal of positive animals, (iii) oxytetracycline treatment combined with serological testing (Rose Bengal test-RBT-and indirect ELISA -iELISA-) and removal of seropositive animals and (iv) oxytetracycline treatment combined with both serological (RBT/iELISA) and skin testing and removal of positive animals. A Susceptible-Infectious-Removal model was used to estimate the reproduction ratio (R) for each strategy. According to this model, the oxytetracycline treatment alone was not effective enough to eradicate the infection. However, this antibiotic treatment combined with diagnostic testing at 4-monthly intervals plus immediate removal of positive animals showed to be effective to eradicate brucellosis independent of the diagnostic test strategy used in an acceptable time interval (1-2 years), depending on the initial number of infected animals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Evaluation of In-House and Commercial Serological Tests for Diagnosis of Human Tularemia

    PubMed Central

    Yanes, Hadjila; Hennebique, Aurélie; Pelloux, Isabelle; Boisset, Sandrine; Bicout, Dominique J.; Caspar, Yvan

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Tularemia is a zoonosis caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis. Its specific diagnosis remains based on serological methods, while F. tularensis is rarely detected in clinical samples by culture or PCR. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of the Serion enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) classic Francisella tularensis IgG and IgM tests (Virion/Serion GmbH Institute, Würzburg, Germany) and the VIRapid tularemia immunochromatographic test (ICT) (Vircell, Granada, Spain) compared to that of the in-house microagglutination test (MAT) and indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) currently used at the French National Reference Center for Francisella. We evaluated 256 consecutive sera from 208 patients, including 51 confirmed and 23 probable tularemia cases, and 134 control patients not infected with F. tularensis. The IFA tests displayed 72.5% sensitivity for IgM (cutoff titer ≥80) and 74.5% for IgG (cutoff titer ≥160), and 99.3% specificity for both IgM and IgG. Using cutoffs advocated by the manufacturer, the Serion ELISAs displayed 88.2% sensitivity for IgM and 86.3% for IgG antibodies; specificity was 94.8% for IgM and 95.5% for IgG. Compared to MAT and IFA tests, the Serion ELISAs allowed earlier detection of specific antibodies (1 to 2 weeks versus 2 to 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms). The ICT sensitivity and specificity were 90% and 83.6%, respectively, when considering the cutoff advocated by the manufacturer. In conclusion, the Serion ELISAs are useful as screening tests for tularemia diagnosis, but additional confirmatory tests (such as MAT and IFA) are needed, especially in areas of low endemicity. PMID:29118164

  20. DARPA Antibody Technology Program Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 Human IgG Antibody Produced by AnaptysBio, Inc.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-02-01

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) Quality Testing MS2 coat protein (MS2CP) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF... ELISA ................................................................................................................4 2.8 SPR Method...3.5 ELISA Results .................................................................................................11 3.6 SPR Results

  1. Multi-Laboratory Study of Five Methods for the Determination of Brevetoxins in Shellfish Tissue Extracts.

    PubMed

    Dickey, Robert W; Plakas, Steven M; Jester, Edward L E; El Said, Kathleen R; Johannessen, Jan N; Flewelling, Leanne J; Scott, Paula; Hammond, Dan G; Van Dolah, Frances M; Leighfield, Tod A; Bottein Dachraoui, Marie-Yasmine; Ramsdell, John S; Pierce, Richard H; Henry, Mike S; Poli, Mark A; Walker, Calvin; Kurtz, Jan; Naar, Jerome; Baden, Daniel G; Musser, Steve M; White, Kevin D; Truman, Penelope; Miller, Aaron; Hawryluk, Timothy P; Wekell, Marleen M; Stirling, David; Quilliam, Michael A; Lee, Jung K

    A thirteen-laboratory comparative study tested the performance of four methods as alternatives to mouse bioassay for the determination of brevetoxins in shellfish. The methods were N2a neuroblastoma cell assay, two variations of the sodium channel receptor binding assay, competitive ELISA, and LC/MS. Three to five laboratories independently performed each method using centrally prepared spiked and naturally incurred test samples. Competitive ELISA and receptor binding (96-well format) compared most favorably with mouse bioassay. Between-laboratory relative standard deviations (RSDR) ranged from 10 to 20% for ELISA and 14 to 31% for receptor binding. Within-laboratory (RSDr) ranged from 6 to 15% for ELISA, and 5 to 31% for receptor binding. Cell assay was extremely sensitive but data variation rendered it unsuitable for statistical treatment. LC/MS performed as well as ELISA on spiked test samples but was inordinately affected by lack of toxin-metabolite standards, uniform instrumental parameters, or both, on incurred test samples. The ELISA and receptor binding assay are good alternatives to mouse bioassay for the determination of brevetoxins in shellfish.

  2. Development of a species-specific coproantigen ELISA for human Taenia solium taeniasis.

    PubMed

    Guezala, Maria-Claudia; Rodriguez, Silvia; Zamora, Humberto; Garcia, Hector H; Gonzalez, Armando E; Tembo, Alice; Allan, James C; Craig, Philip S

    2009-09-01

    Taenia solium causes human neurocysticercosis and is endemic in underdeveloped countries where backyard pig keeping is common. Microscopic fecal diagnostic methods for human T. solium taeniasis are not very sensitive, and Taenia saginata and Taenia solium eggs are indistinguishable under the light microscope. Coproantigen (CoAg) ELISA methods are very sensitive, but currently only genus (Taenia) specific. This paper describes the development of a highly species-specific coproantigen ELISA test to detect T. solium intestinal taeniasis. Sensitivity was maintained using a capture antibody of rabbit IgG against T. solium adult whole worm somatic extract, whereas species specificity was achieved by utilization of an enzyme-conjugated rabbit IgG against T. solium adult excretory-secretory (ES) antigen. A known panel of positive and negative human fecal samples was tested with this hybrid sandwich ELISA. The ELISA test gave 100% specificity and 96.4% sensitivity for T. solium tapeworm carriers (N = 28), with a J index of 0.96. This simple ELISA incorporating anti-adult somatic and anti-adult ES antibodies provides the first potentially species-specific coproantigen test for human T. solium taeniasis.

  3. Variability of the QuantiFERON®-TB gold in-tube test using automated and manual methods.

    PubMed

    Whitworth, William C; Goodwin, Donald J; Racster, Laura; West, Kevin B; Chuke, Stella O; Daniels, Laura J; Campbell, Brandon H; Bohanon, Jamaria; Jaffar, Atheer T; Drane, Wanzer; Sjoberg, Paul A; Mazurek, Gerald H

    2014-01-01

    The QuantiFERON®-TB Gold In-Tube test (QFT-GIT) detects Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection by measuring release of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) when T-cells (in heparinized whole blood) are stimulated with specific Mtb antigens. The amount of IFN-γ is determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Automation of the ELISA method may reduce variability. To assess the impact of ELISA automation, we compared QFT-GIT results and variability when ELISAs were performed manually and with automation. Blood was collected into two sets of QFT-GIT tubes and processed at the same time. For each set, IFN-γ was measured in automated and manual ELISAs. Variability in interpretations and IFN-γ measurements was assessed between automated (A1 vs. A2) and manual (M1 vs. M2) ELISAs. Variability in IFN-γ measurements was also assessed on separate groups stratified by the mean of the four ELISAs. Subjects (N = 146) had two automated and two manual ELISAs completed. Overall, interpretations were discordant for 16 (11%) subjects. Excluding one subject with indeterminate results, 7 (4.8%) subjects had discordant automated interpretations and 10 (6.9%) subjects had discordant manual interpretations (p = 0.17). Quantitative variability was not uniform; within-subject variability was greater with higher IFN-γ measurements and with manual ELISAs. For subjects with mean TB Responses ±0.25 IU/mL of the 0.35 IU/mL cutoff, the within-subject standard deviation for two manual tests was 0.27 (CI95 = 0.22-0.37) IU/mL vs. 0.09 (CI95 = 0.07-0.12) IU/mL for two automated tests. QFT-GIT ELISA automation may reduce variability near the test cutoff. Methodological differences should be considered when interpreting and using IFN-γ release assays (IGRAs).

  4. Direct Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

    PubMed

    Kohl, Thomas O; Ascoli, Carl A

    2017-07-05

    The competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (cELISA; also called an inhibition ELISA) is designed so that purified antigen competes with antigen in the test sample for binding to an antibody that has been immobilized in microtiter plate wells. The same concept works if the immobilized molecule is antigen and the competing molecules are purified labeled antibody versus antibody in a test sample. Direct cELISAs incorporate labeled antigen or antibody, whereas indirect assay configurations use reporter-labeled secondary antibodies. The cELISA is very useful for determining the concentration of small-molecule antigens in complex sample mixtures. In the direct cELISA, antigen-specific capture antibody is adsorbed onto the microtiter plate before incubation with either known standards or unknown test samples. Enzyme-linked antigen (i.e., labeled antigen) is also added, which can bind to the capture antibody only when the antibody's binding site is not occupied by either the antigen standard or antigen in the test samples. Unbound labeled and unlabeled antigens are washed away and substrate is added. The amount of antigen in the standard or the test sample determines the amount of reporter-labeled antigen bound to antibody, yielding a signal that is inversely proportional to antigen concentration within the sample. Thus, the higher the antigen concentration in the test sample, the less labeled antigen is bound to the capture antibody, and hence the weaker is the resultant signal. © 2017 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

  5. Development and validation of an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis in Sri Lanka.

    PubMed

    Iddawela, D; Ehambaram, K; Kumarasiri, P V; Wijesundera, S

    2015-09-01

    ELISA is the most widely used form of diagnosis for toxoplasmosis. Several commercial kits are currently used in Sri Lanka. However, these kits are not affordable in resource-limited settings. Objectives Aim of this study was to develop a cost effective in-house ELISA for the detection of Toxoplasma antibody and to estimate the diagnostic accuracy compared to a commercial kit. Vero cell lines were inoculated with tachyzoites and harvested after 2-6 days and sonicated to obtain somatic antigen. The antigen was used as coating material in ELISA to detect antibodies against T. gondii in patient sera. Hundred and three patients' sera were analysed by in-house ELISA and kit ELISA. Optical density (OD) values were analysed statistically. Toxoplasma IgG avidity test was used to determine the chronic and acute phase of infection. The optimum working dilutions for antigen was 0.846 μg/ml and for serum 1 in 100. The optimal cut-off values for the in-house ELISA within the range 0.85 to 0.98 at which the sensitivity was 95.3% and specificity was 98.3. The OD values of in-house ELISA were compared with OD values of kit ELISA and the results showed strong correlation between the two tests. The results of our study demonstrated that our in-house ELISA for detection of T. gondii antibody was as sensitive and specific as the commercial kit used in this study. Thus, the in-house ELISA is a useful, costeffective tool for diagnostic and screening purposes.

  6. Detection of Plasmodium Aldolase Using a Smartphone and Microfluidic Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Background Malaria control efforts are limited in rural areas. A low-cost system to monitor response without the use of electricity is needed. Plasmodium aldolase is a malaria biomarker measured using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques. A three-part system using ELISA was developed consisting of a microfluidic chip, hand crank centrifuge, and a smartphone. Methods A circular microfluidic chip was fabricated using clear acrylic and a CO2 laser. A series of passive valves released reagents at precise times based upon centrifugal force. Color change was measured via smartphone camera using an application programmed in Java. The microchip was compared to a standard 96-well sandwich ELISA. Results Results from standard ELISA were compared to microchip at varying concentrations (1–10 ng/mL). Over 15 different microfluidic patterns were tested, and a final prototype of the chip was created. The prototype microchip was compared to standard sandwich ELISA (n = 20) using samples of recombinant aldolase. Color readings of standard ELISA and microfluidic microchip showed similar results. Conclusion A low-cost microfluidic system could detect and follow therapeutic outcomes in rural areas and identify resistant strains. PMID:29057138

  7. Antigenic Properties and Diagnostic Potential of Baculovirus-Expressed Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Proteins VPX and VP3

    PubMed Central

    Martínez-Torrecuadrada, Jorge L.; Lázaro, Beatriz; Rodriguez, José F.; Casal, J. Ignacio

    2000-01-01

    The routine technique for detecting antibodies specific to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a serological evaluation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with preparations of whole virions as the antigens. To avoid using complete virus in the standard technique, we have developed two new antigens through the expression of the VPX and VP3 genes in insect cells. VPX and especially VP3 were expressed at high levels in insect cells and simple to purify. The immunogenicity of both proteins was similar to that of the native virus. VPX was able to elicit neutralizing antibodies but VP3 was not. Purified VPX and VP3 were tested in an indirect ELISA with more than 300 chicken sera. There was an excellent correlation between the results of the ELISA using VPX and those of the two commercial kits. VP3 did not perform as well as VPX, and the linear correlation was significantly lower. A comparison with the standard reference technique, seroneutralization, showed that the indirect ELISA was more sensitive. Therefore, VPX-based ELISA is a good alternative to conventional ELISAs that use whole virions. PMID:10882666

  8. Antigenic properties and diagnostic potential of baculovirus-expressed infectious bursal disease virus proteins VPX and VP3.

    PubMed

    Martínez-Torrecuadrada, J L; Lázaro, B; Rodriguez, J F; Casal, J I

    2000-07-01

    The routine technique for detecting antibodies specific to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a serological evaluation by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with preparations of whole virions as the antigens. To avoid using complete virus in the standard technique, we have developed two new antigens through the expression of the VPX and VP3 genes in insect cells. VPX and especially VP3 were expressed at high levels in insect cells and simple to purify. The immunogenicity of both proteins was similar to that of the native virus. VPX was able to elicit neutralizing antibodies but VP3 was not. Purified VPX and VP3 were tested in an indirect ELISA with more than 300 chicken sera. There was an excellent correlation between the results of the ELISA using VPX and those of the two commercial kits. VP3 did not perform as well as VPX, and the linear correlation was significantly lower. A comparison with the standard reference technique, seroneutralization, showed that the indirect ELISA was more sensitive. Therefore, VPX-based ELISA is a good alternative to conventional ELISAs that use whole virions.

  9. Improved detection of equine antibodies against Sarcocystis neurona using polyvalent ELISAs based on the parasite SnSAG surface antigens.

    PubMed

    Yeargan, Michelle R; Howe, Daniel K

    2011-02-28

    Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a common neurologic disease of horses that is caused by the apicomplexan pathogen Sarcocystis neurona. To help improve serologic diagnosis of S. neurona infection, we have modified existing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on the immunogenic parasite surface antigens SnSAG2, SnSAG3, and SnSAG4 to make the assays polyvalent, thereby circumventing difficulties associated with parasite antigenic variants and diversity in equine immune responses. Two approaches were utilized to achieve polyvalence: (1) mixtures of the individual recombinant SnSAGs (rSnSAGs) were included in single ELISAs; (2) a collection of unique SnSAG chimeras that fused protein domains from different SnSAG surface antigens into a single recombinant protein were generated for use in the ELISAs. These new assays were assessed using a defined sample set of equine sera and cerebrospinal fluids (CSFs) that had been characterized by Western blot and/or were from confirmed EPM horses. While all of the polyvalent ELISAs performed relatively well, the highest sensitivity and specificity (100%/100%) were achieved with assays containing the rSnSAG4/2 chimera (Domain 1 of SnSAG4 fused to SnSAG2) or using a mixture of rSnSAG3 and rSnSAG4. The rSnSAG4 antigen alone and the rSnSAG4/3 chimera (Domain 1 of SnSAG4 fused to Domain 2 of SnSAG3) exhibited the next best accuracy at 95.2% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Binding ratios and percent positivity (PP) ratios, determined by comparing the mean values for positive versus negative samples, showed that the most advantageous signal to noise ratios were provided by rSnSAG4 and the rSnSAG4/3 chimera. Collectively, our results imply that a polyvalent ELISA based on SnSAG4 and SnSAG3, whether as a cocktail of two proteins or as a single chimeric protein, can give optimal results in serologic testing of serum or CSF for the presence of antibodies against S. neurona. The use of polyvalent SnSAG ELISAs will enhance the reliability of serologic testing for S. neurona infection, which should lead to improved diagnosis of EPM. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Comparison of PanBio Dengue Duo Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and MRL Dengue Fever Virus Immunoglobulin M Capture ELISA for Diagnosis of Dengue Virus Infections in Southeast Asia

    PubMed Central

    Cuzzubbo, Andrea J.; Vaughn, David W.; Nisalak, Ananda; Solomon, Tom; Kalayanarooj, Siripen; Aaskov, John; Dung, Nguyen Minh; Devine, Peter L.

    1999-01-01

    The performances of the MRL dengue fever virus immunoglobulin M (IgM) capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the PanBio Dengue Duo IgM capture and IgG capture ELISA were compared. Eighty sera from patients with dengue virus infections, 24 sera from patients with Japanese encephalitis (JE), and 78 sera from patients with nonflavivirus infections, such as malaria, typhoid, leptospirosis, and scrub typhus, were used. The MRL test showed superior sensitivity for dengue virus infections (94 versus 89%), while the PanBio test showed superior specificity for JE (79 versus 25%) and other infections (100 versus 91%). The PanBio ELISA showed better overall performance, as assessed by the sum of sensitivity and specificity (F value). When dengue virus and nonflavivirus infections were compared, F values of 189 and 185 were obtained for the PanBio and MRL tests, respectively, while when dengue virus infections and JE were compared, F values of 168 and 119 were obtained. The results obtained with individual sera in the PanBio and MRL IgM ELISAs showed good correlation, but this analysis revealed that the cutoff value of the MRL test was set well below that of the PanBio test. Comparing the sensitivity and specificity of the tests at different cutoff values (receiver-operator analysis) revealed that the MRL and PanBio IgM ELISAs performed similarly in distinguishing dengue virus from nonflavivirus infections, although the PanBio IgM ELISA showed significantly better distinction between dengue virus infections and JE. The implications of these findings for the laboratory diagnosis of dengue are discussed. PMID:10473522

  11. Use of immuno assays during the development of a Hemophilus influenzae type b vaccine for technology transfer to emerging vaccine manufacturers.

    PubMed

    Hamidi, Ahd; Kreeftenberg, Hans

    2014-01-01

    Quality control of Hemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines is mainly dependent on physicochemical methods. Overcoming sample matrix interference when using physicochemical tests is very challenging, these tests are therefore only used to test purified samples of polysaccharide, protein, bulk conjugate, and final product. For successful development of a Hib conjugate vaccine, several ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) methods were needed as an additional tool to enable testing of in process (IP) samples. In this paper, three of the ELISA's that have been very valuable during the process development, implementation and scaling up are highlighted. The PRP-ELISA, was a very efficient tool in testing in process (IP) samples generated during the development of the cultivation and purification process of the Hib-polysaccharide. The antigenicity ELISA, was used to confirm the covalent linkage of PRP and TTd in the conjugate. The anti-PRP IgG ELISA was developed as part of the immunogenicity test, used to demonstrate the ability of the Hib conjugate vaccine to elicit a T-cell dependent immune response in mice. ELISA methods are relatively cheap and easy to implement and therefore very useful during the development of polysaccharide conjugate vaccines.

  12. Serological confirmatory testing of alveolar and cystic echinococcosis in clinical practice: results of a comparative study with commercialized and in-house assays.

    PubMed

    Reiter-Owona, Ingrid; Grüner, Beate; Frosch, Matthias; Hoerauf, Achim; Kern, Peter; Tappe, Dennis

    2009-01-01

    Sera of 50 patients with either cystic (CE) or alveolar echinococcosis (AE) in different clinical stages were examined for the presence of anti-Echinococcus-antibodies. Antibody-screening was performed with ELISA, IHA and IFAT, and confirmatory testing was done by the commercialized E. multilocularis-specific Em2plus-ELISA versus an in-house E. multilocularis-specific Em10-ELISA. Sera with discrepant confirmatory results were subjected to a commercial Echinococcus IgG Western blot (WB). In sera from patients with CE, the Em2plus-ELISA showed cross-reactions in 23.5%, whereas the Em10-ELISA did not exhibit any cross-reactivity. Cross-reactivity paralleled active infection with high antibody titers in the screening assays. In sera from patients with AE, confirmation by both ELISAs was achieved in 57.6%, mostly in patients with an advanced stage of the disease and high antibody titers in the screening assays. False-negative reactions of both ELISAs occurred in 30.3%, mostly in patients who had low antibody levels in the screening tests. The Em2plus-ELISA exhibited fewer false-negative reactions than the Em10-ELISA. The WB confirmed the positive results of either assay and was the assay with the highest reliability at different stages of CE and AE, followed by the Em2plus-ELISA for AE. High antibody titers in the screening assays will favour the detection of species-specific antibodies in either form.

  13. Acute undifferentiated fever in India: a multicentre study of aetiology and diagnostic accuracy.

    PubMed

    Mørch, Kristine; Manoharan, Anand; Chandy, Sara; Chacko, Novin; Alvarez-Uria, Gerardo; Patil, Suvarna; Henry, Anil; Nesaraj, Joel; Kuriakose, Cijoy; Singh, Ashita; Kurian, Siby; Gill Haanshuus, Christel; Langeland, Nina; Blomberg, Bjørn; Vasanthan Antony, George; Mathai, Dilip

    2017-10-04

    The objectives of this study were to determine the proportion of malaria, bacteraemia, scrub typhus, leptospirosis, chikungunya and dengue among hospitalized patients with acute undifferentiated fever in India, and to describe the performance of standard diagnostic methods. During April 2011-November 2012, 1564 patients aged ≥5 years with febrile illness for 2-14 days were consecutively included in an observational study at seven community hospitals in six states in India. Malaria microscopy, blood culture, Dengue rapid NS1 antigen and IgM Combo test, Leptospira IgM ELISA, Scrub typhus IgM ELISA and Chikungunya IgM ELISA were routinely performed at the hospitals. Second line testing, Dengue IgM capture ELISA (MAC-ELISA), Scrub typhus immunofluorescence (IFA), Leptospira Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT), malaria PCR and malaria immunochromatographic rapid diagnostic test (RDT) Parahit Total™ were performed at the coordinating centre. Convalescence samples were not available. Case definitions were as follows: Leptospirosis: Positive ELISA and positive MAT. Scrub typhus: Positive ELISA and positive IFA. Dengue: Positive RDT and/or positive MAC-ELISA. Chikungunya: Positive ELISA. Bacteraemia: Growth in blood culture excluding those defined as contaminants. Malaria: Positive genus-specific PCR. Malaria was diagnosed in 17% (268/1564) and among these 54% had P. falciparum. Dengue was diagnosed in 16% (244/1564). Bacteraemia was found in 8% (124/1564), and among these Salmonella typhi or S. paratyphi constituted 35%. Scrub typhus was diagnosed in 10%, leptospirosis in 7% and chikungunya in 6%. Fulfilling more than one case definition was common, most frequent in chikungunya where 26% (25/98) also had positive dengue test. Malaria and dengue were the most common causes of fever in this study. A high overlap between case definitions probably reflects high prevalence of prior infections, cross reactivity and subclinical infections, rather than high prevalence of coinfections. Low accuracy of routine diagnostic tests should be taken into consideration when approaching the patient with acute undifferentiated fever in India.

  14. Development of an indirect ELISA for detection of antibody to wobbly possum disease virus in archival sera of Australian brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Giles, J C; Johnson, W; Jones, G; Heuer, C; Dunowska, M

    2018-07-01

    To develop an indirect ELISA based on recombinant nucleocapsid (rN) protein of wobbly possum disease (WPD) virus for investigation of the presence of WPD virus in Australian brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand. Pre- and post-infection sera (n=15 and 16, respectively) obtained from a previous experimental challenge study were used for ELISA development. Sera were characterised as positive or negative for antibody to WPD virus based on western-blot using WPD virus rN protein as antigen. An additional 215 archival serum samples, collected between 2000-2016 from five different regions of New Zealand, were also tested using the ELISA. Bayesian modelling of corrected optical density at 450 nm (OD 450 ) results from the ELISA was used to obtain estimates of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to establish cut-off values for the ELISA, and to estimate the prevalence of antibody to WPD virus. Western blot analysis showed 5/14 (36%) pre-infection sera and 11/11 (100%) post-infection sera from experimentally infected possums were positive for antibodies to WPD virus. Bayesian estimates of the ROC curves established cut-off values of OD 450 ≥0.41 for samples positive, and OD 450 <0.28 for samples negative for antibody to WPD virus, for sera diluted 1:100 for the ELISA. Based on the model, the estimated proportion of samples with antibodies to WPD virus was 0.30 (95% probability interval=0.196-0.418). Of the 230 archival serum samples tested using the ELISA, 48 (20.9%) were positive for antibody to WPD virus, 155 (67.4%) were negative and 27 (11.7%) equivocal, using the established cut-off values. The proportion of samples positive for WPD virus antibody differed between geographical regions (p<0.001). The results suggested that WPD virus or a related virus has circulated among possums in New Zealand with differences in the proportion of antibody-positive samples from different geographical regions. Antibodies to WPD virus did not seem to protect possums from disease following experimental infection, as one third of possums from the previous challenge study showed evidence of pre-existing antibody at the time of challenge. These results provide further support for existence of different pathotypes of WPD virus, but the exact determinants of protection against WPD and epidemiology of infection in various regions of New Zealand remain to be established. Availability of the indirect ELISA for detection of WPD virus antibody will facilitate prospective epidemiological investigation of WPD virus circulation in wild possum populations in New Zealand.

  15. Distinguishing Secondary Dengue Virus Infection From Zika Virus Infection With Previous Dengue by a Combination of 3 Simple Serological Tests.

    PubMed

    Tsai, Wen-Yang; Youn, Han Ha; Brites, Carlos; Tsai, Jih-Jin; Tyson, Jasmine; Pedroso, Celia; Drexler, Jan Felix; Stone, Mars; Simmons, Graham; Busch, Michael P; Lanteri, Marion; Stramer, Susan L; Balmaseda, Angel; Harris, Eva; Wang, Wei-Kung

    2017-11-13

    The explosive spread of Zika virus (ZIKV) and associated microcephaly present an urgent need for sensitive and specific serodiagnostic tests, particularly for pregnant women in dengue virus (DENV)-endemic regions. Recent reports of enhanced ZIKV replication by dengue-immune sera have raised concerns about the role of previous DENV infection on the risk and severity of microcephaly and other ZIKV complications. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on ZIKV and DENV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) were established to test acute, convalescent phase, and post-convalescent phase serum/plasma samples from reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction-confirmed cases including 20 primary ZIKV, 25 ZIKV with previous DENV, 58 secondary DENV, and 16 primary DENV1 infections. ZIKV-NS1 immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) ELISAs combined can detect ZIKV infection with a sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 66.7%. The ZIKV-NS1 IgG cross-reactivity by samples from secondary DENV infection cases ranged from 66.7% to 28.1% (within 1 month to 1-2 years post-illness, respectively). Addition of DENV1-NS1 IgG ELISA can distinguish primary ZIKV infection; the ratio of absorbance of ZIKV-NS1 to DENV1-NS1 IgG ELISA can distinguish ZIKV with previous DENV and secondary DENV infections with a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 81.3%. These findings were supported by analysis of sequential samples. An algorithm for ZIKV serodiagnosis based on 3 simple ELISAs is proposed to distinguish primary ZIKV, ZIKV with previous DENV, and secondary DENV infections; this could be applied to serodiagnosis for ZIKV, serosurveillance, and monitoring ZIKV infection during pregnancy to understand the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and complications of ZIKV in dengue-endemic regions. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus antigens.

    PubMed

    Voevodin, A F; Pácsa, A S

    1983-01-01

    Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was standardized for measurement of antibody activity of reference human and baboon (Papio hamadryas) sera to soluble Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens. A comparison with the immunofluorescent (IF) method showed that ELISA detects antibody specifically and sensitivity. In ELISA, Herpesvirus Papio (HVP) nuclear antigen (HUPNA) positive baboon serum reacted with EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA), as a further indication of the antigenic similarity between HVP and EBV. Forty-two baboon sera were tested with EBV antigens in both ELISA and IF test. The results showed an agreement between the two methods and also that by the use of EBV antigens, ELISA measures anti-HVP activity of baboon sera. ELISA did not reveal significant difference in antibody activity of 23 baboons with lymphoma and that of 24 healthy baboons. Results provide further data that ELISA can be used effectively in the field of EBV serology.

  17. Does size matter? Study of performance of pseudo-ELISAs based on molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles prepared for analytes of different sizes.

    PubMed

    Cáceres, C; Canfarotta, F; Chianella, I; Pereira, E; Moczko, E; Esen, C; Guerreiro, A; Piletska, E; Whitcombe, M J; Piletsky, S A

    2016-02-21

    The aim of this work is to evaluate whether the size of the analyte used as template for the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) can affect their performance in pseudo-enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (pseudo-ELISAs). Successful demonstration of a nanoMIPs-based pseudo-ELISA for vancomycin (1449.3 g mol(-1)) was demonstrated earlier. In the present investigation, the following analytes were selected: horseradish peroxidase (HRP, 44 kDa), cytochrome C (Cyt C, 12 kDa) biotin (244.31 g mol(-1)) and melamine (126.12 g mol(-1)). NanoMIPs with a similar composition for all analytes were synthesised by persulfate-initiated polymerisation in water. In addition, core-shell nanoMIPs coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and imprinted for melamine were produced in organics and tested. The polymerisation of the nanoparticles was done using a solid-phase approach with the correspondent template immobilised on glass beads. The performance of the nanoMIPs used as replacement for antibodies in direct pseudo-ELISA (for the enzymes) and competitive pseudo-ELISA for the smaller analytes was investigated. For the competitive mode we rely on competition for the binding to the nanoparticles between free analyte and corresponding analyte-HRP conjugate. The results revealed that the best performances were obtained for nanoMIPs synthesised in aqueous media for the larger analytes. In addition, this approach was successful for biotin but completely failed for the smallest template melamine. This problem was solved using nanoMIP prepared by UV polymerisation in an organic media with a PEG shell. This study demonstrates that the preparation of nanoMIP by solid-phase approach can produce material with high affinity and potential to replace antibodies in ELISA tests for both large and small analytes. This makes this technology versatile and applicable to practically any target analyte and diagnostic field.

  18. Integration of Cell Phone Imaging with Microchip ELISA to Detect Ovarian Cancer HE4 Biomarker in Urine at the Point-of-Care

    PubMed Central

    Wang, ShuQi; Zhao, Xiaohu; Khimji, Imran; Akbas, Ragip; Qiu, Weiliang; Edwards, Dale; Cramer, Daniel W.; Ye, Bin; Demirci, Utkan

    2013-01-01

    Ovarian cancer is asymptomatic at early stages and most patients present with advanced levels of disease. Lack of cost-effective methods that can achieve frequent, simple and non-invasive testing hinders early detection and causes high mortality in ovarian cancer patients. Here, we report a simple and inexpensive microchip ELISA-based detection module that employs a portable detection system, i.e., a cell phone/charge-coupled device (CCD) to quantify an ovarian cancer biomarker, HE4, in urine. Integration of a mobile application with a cell phone enabled immediate processing of microchip ELISA results, which eliminated the need for a bulky, expensive spectrophotometer. The HE4 level detected by a cell phone or a lensless CCD system was significantly elevated in urine samples from cancer patients (n = 19) than normal healthy controls (n = 20) (p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that the microchip ELISA coupled with a cell phone running an automated analysis application had a sensitivity of 89.5% at a specificity of 90%. Under the same specificity, the microchip ELISA coupled with a CCD had a sensitivity of 84.2%. In conclusion, integration of microchip ELISA with cell phone/CCD-based colorimetric measurement technology can be used to detect HE4 biomarker at the point-of-care (POC), paving the way to create bedside technologies for diagnostics and treatment monitoring. PMID:21881677

  19. Standardization and validation of a cytometric bead assay to assess antibodies to multiple Plasmodium falciparum recombinant antigens.

    PubMed

    Ondigo, Bartholomew N; Park, Gregory S; Gose, Severin O; Ho, Benjamin M; Ochola, Lyticia A; Ayodo, George O; Ofulla, Ayub V; John, Chandy C

    2012-12-21

    Multiplex cytometric bead assay (CBA) have a number of advantages over ELISA for antibody testing, but little information is available on standardization and validation of antibody CBA to multiple Plasmodium falciparum antigens. The present study was set to determine optimal parameters for multiplex testing of antibodies to P. falciparum antigens, and to compare results of multiplex CBA to ELISA. Antibodies to ten recombinant P. falciparum antigens were measured by CBA and ELISA in samples from 30 individuals from a malaria endemic area of Kenya and compared to known positive and negative control plasma samples. Optimal antigen amounts, monoplex vs multiplex testing, plasma dilution, optimal buffer, number of beads required were assessed for CBA testing, and results from CBA vs. ELISA testing were compared. Optimal amounts for CBA antibody testing differed according to antigen. Results for monoplex CBA testing correlated strongly with multiplex testing for all antigens (r = 0.88-0.99, P values from <0.0001 - 0.004), and antibodies to variants of the same antigen were accurately distinguished within a multiplex reaction. Plasma dilutions of 1:100 or 1:200 were optimal for all antigens for CBA testing. Plasma diluted in a buffer containing 0.05% sodium azide, 0.5% polyvinylalcohol, and 0.8% polyvinylpyrrolidone had the lowest background activity. CBA median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values with 1,000 antigen-conjugated beads/well did not differ significantly from MFI with 5,000 beads/well. CBA and ELISA results correlated well for all antigens except apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1). CBA testing produced a greater range of values in samples from malaria endemic areas and less background reactivity for blank samples than ELISA. With optimization, CBA may be the preferred method of testing for antibodies to P. falciparum antigens, as CBA can test for antibodies to multiple recombinant antigens from a single plasma sample and produces a greater range of values in positive samples and lower background readings for blank samples than ELISA.

  20. [Determination of antiphospholipid antibodies in serum using ELISA].

    PubMed

    Fialová, L; Mikulíková, L; Malbohan, I; Průcha, M; Palecková, A; Cerný, V

    1994-05-01

    The authors compare two ELISA methods for the assessment of antiphospholipid antibodies, classes IgG and IgM, in serum: ELISA Pin Plate System ALPHA DIALAB Co. and the ELISA method developed in the Research Institute of Rheumatic Diseases. Both methods use cardiolipin as antigen. In the Pin Plate test the immunochemical reaction antigen/antibody does not take place at the surface of the pits of the microtitration plates but on the tip of the next plate. The results of examinations of antiphospholipid antibodies obtained by the tested methods are comparable, the Pin Plate test is quicker and more sensitive, but its price limits routine use.

  1. Evaluation of Toxocara cati Excretory-Secretory Larval Antigens in Serodiagnosis of Human Toxocariasis.

    PubMed

    Zibaei, Mohammad; Sadjjadi, Seyed Mahmoud; Sarkari, Bahador; Uga, Shoji

    2016-05-01

    Toxocariasis is the clinical term that is applied to infection in the human host with Toxocara species larvae. Serological tests are important tools for the diagnosis of toxocariasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the excretory-secretory (ES) antigens of T. cati larvae using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and also Western blotting for serodiagnosis of human toxocariasis. The ES antigens were prepared from T. cati third-stage larvae. Serum samples were obtained from 33 confirmed cases of toxocariasis, 35 patients infected with other parasitic diseases, and 30 from healthy individuals tested with ELISA and immunoblotting. The ELISA showed appropriate performance in term of specificity (96.7%) and sensitivity (97.0%). Electrophoretic analysis of T. cati ES antigens revealed a range of 20- to 150-kDa fractions. The highest sensitivity was achieved with 42- and 50-kDa fractions. The ELISA analyses using T. cati ES antigens demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity compared to T. canis ES as antigens for diagnosis of human toxocariasis. Accordingly, application of Western blotting, based on 42- and 50-kDa fractions of ES antigens, can be recommended for the accurate diagnosis of toxocariasis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Brucella species survey in polar bears (ursus maritimus) of northern Alaska.

    PubMed

    O'Hara, Todd M; Holcomb, Darce; Elzer, Philip; Estepp, Jessica; Perry, Quinesha; Hagius, Sue; Kirk, Cassandra

    2010-07-01

    We report on the presence of specific antibodies to Brucella spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from northern Alaska (southern Beaufort Sea) during 2003-2006. Based on numerous known stressors (e.g., climate change and loss of sea ice habitat, contaminants), there is increased concern regarding the status of polar bears. Considering these changes, it is important to assess exposure to potentially pathogenic organisms and to improve understanding of transmission pathways. Brucella or specific antibodies to Brucella spp. has been reported in marine mammals. Various assays were used to elucidate the pathway or source of exposure (e.g., "marine" vs. "terrestrial" Brucella spp.) of northern Alaska polar bears to Brucella spp. The standard plate test (SPT) and the buffered Brucella antigen card test (BBA) were used for initial screening for antibodies specific to Brucella. We then evaluated positive reactors (presence of serum antibody specific for Brucella spp.) using immunoblots and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA; based on pinniped-derived Brucella spp. antigen). Annual prevalence of antibody (BBA and SPT) for Brucella spp. ranged from 6.8% to 18.5% over 2003-2006, with an overall prevalence of 10.2%. Prevalence of Brucella spp. antibody did vary by age class. Western blot analyses indicated 17 samples were positive for Brucella spp. antibody; of these, 13 were negative by marine (pinniped) derived Brucella antigen cELISA and four were positive by marine cELISA. Of the four samples positive for Brucella antibody by marine cELISA, three cross-reacted with Y. enterocolitica and Brucella spp. (one sample was Brucella negative and Y. enterocolitica positive). It appears the polar bear antibody does not react with the antigens used on the marine cELISA assay, potentially indicating a terrestrial (nonpinniped) source of Brucella spp.

  3. Inter-laboratory validation of the modified murine local lymph node assay based on 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation.

    PubMed

    Kojima, Hajime; Takeyoshi, Masahiro; Sozu, Takashi; Awogi, Takumi; Arima, Kazunori; Idehara, Kenji; Ikarashi, Yoshiaki; Kanazawa, Yukiko; Maki, Eiji; Omori, Takashi; Yuasa, Atsuko; Yoshimura, Isao

    2011-01-01

    The murine local lymph node assay (LLNA) is a well-established alternative to the guinea pig maximization test (GPMT) or Buehler test (BT) for the assessment of the skin sensitizing ability of a drug, cosmetic material, pesticide or industrial chemical. Instead of radioisotope using in this method, Takeyoshi M. et al. (2001) has developed a modified LLNA based on the 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation (LLNA:BrdU-ELISA). The LLNA:BrdU-ELISA is practically identical to the LLNA methodology excluding the use of BrdU, for which a single intraperitoneal injection of BrdU is made on day 4, and colorimetric detection of cell turnover. We conducted the validation study to evaluate the reliability and relevance of LLNA:BrdU-ELISA. The experiment involved 7 laboratories, wherein 10 chemicals were examined under blinded conditions. In this study, 3 chemicals were examined in all laboratories and the remaining 7 were examined in 3 laboratories. The data were expressed as the BrdU incorporation using an ELISA method for each group, and the stimulation index (SI) for each chemical-treated group was determined as the increase in the BrdU incorporation relative to the concurrent vehicle control group. An SI of 2 was set as the cut-off value for exhibiting skin sensitization activity. The results obtained in the experiments conducted for all 10 chemicals were sufficiently consistent with small variations in their SI values. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of LLNA:BrdU-ELISA against those of GPMT/BT were 7/7 (100%), 3/3 (100%), and 10/10 (100%), respectively. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Multiyear Serological Surveillance of Notifiable Influenza A Viruses in Belgian Poultry: A Retrospective Analysis.

    PubMed

    Marché, Sylvie; Houdart, Philippe; van den Berg, Thierry; Lambrecht, Bénédicte

    2016-05-01

    Surveillance of notifiable avian influenza (NAI) virus is mandatory in European member states, and each year a serological survey is performed to detect H5 and H7 circulation in poultry holdings. In Belgium, this serological monitoring is a combination of a stratified and a risk-based approach and is applied to commercial holdings with more than 200 birds. Moreover, a competitive nucleoprotein (NP) ELISA has been used as first screening method since 2010. A retrospective analysis of the serological monitoring performed from 2007 through 2013 showed sporadic circulation of notifiable low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses in Belgian holdings with a fluctuating apparent flock seroprevalence according to years and species. Overall, the highest apparent flock seroprevalence was detected for the H5 subtype in domestic Anatidae, with 20%-50% for breeding geese and 4%-9% for fattening ducks. Positive serology against non-H5/H7 viruses was also observed in the same species with the use of the IDScreen influenza A antibody competition ELISA kit (ID-vet NP ELISA), and confirmed by isolation of H2, H3, H6, and H9 LPAI viruses. Among Galliformes, the apparent flock seroprevalence was lower, ranging between 0.3% and 1.3%. Circulation of notifiable LPAI viruses was only observed in laying hens with a similar seroprevalence for H5 and H7. Based on ID-vet NP ELISA results, no circulation of LPAI viruses, regardless the subtype, was observed in breeding chickens and fattening turkeys. Retrospectively, the use of an ELISA as first-line test not only reduced the number of hemagglutination inhibition tests to be performed, but also gave a broader evaluation of the prevalence of LPAI viruses in general, and might help to identify the most at-risk farms.

  5. Multiyear Serological Surveillance of Notifiable Influenza A Viruses in Belgian Poultry: A Retrospective Analysis.

    PubMed

    Marché, Sylvie; Houdart, Philippe; van den Berg, Thierry; Lambrecht, Bénédicte

    2015-12-01

    Surveillance of notifiable avian influenza (NAI) virus is mandatory in European member states, and each year a serological survey is performed to detect H5 and H7 circulation in poultry holdings. In Belgium, this serological monitoring is a combination of a stratified and a risk-based approach and is applied to commercial holdings with more than 200 birds. Moreover, a competitive nucleoprotein (NP) ELISA has been used as first screening method since 2010. A retrospective analysis of the serological monitoring performed from 2007 through 2013 showed sporadic circulation of notifiable low-pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) viruses in Belgian holdings with a fluctuating apparent flock seroprevalence according to years and species. Overall, the highest apparent flock seroprevalence was detected for the H5 subtype in domestic Anatidae, with 20%-50% for breeding geese and 4%-9% for fattening ducks. Positive serology against non-H5/H7 viruses was also observed in the same species with the use of the IDScreen influenza A antibody competition ELISA kit (ID-vet NP ELISA), and confirmed by isolation of H2, H3, H6, and H9 LPAI viruses. Among Galliformes, the apparent flock seroprevalence was lower, ranging between 0.3% and 1.3%. Circulation of notifiable LPAI viruses was only observed in laying hens with a similar seroprevalence for H5 and H7. Based on ID-vet NP ELISA results, no circulation of LPAI viruses, regardless the subtype, was observed in breeding chickens and fattening turkeys. Retrospectively, the use of an ELISA as first-line test not only reduced the number of hemagglutination inhibition tests to be performed, but also gave a broader evaluation of the prevalence of LPAI viruses in general, and might help to identify the most at-risk farms.

  6. DARPA Antibody Technology Program Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 sdAb Produced by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-10-01

    Program (ATP) Quality MS2 coat protein (MS2CP) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF...3 2.6 Thermal Stress Test............................................................................................4 2.7 ELISA ...7 3.4 DSC Results .....................................................................................................10 3.5 ELISA

  7. Sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting serum antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in fallow deer.

    PubMed

    Prieto, José M; Balseiro, Ana; Casais, Rosa; Abendaño, Naiara; Fitzgerald, Liam E; Garrido, Joseba M; Juste, Ramon A; Alonso-Hearn, Marta

    2014-08-01

    The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the diagnostic test most commonly used in efforts to control paratuberculosis in domestic ruminants. However, commercial ELISAs have not been validated for detecting antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in wild animals. In this study, we compared the sensitivities and specificities of five ELISAs using individual serum samples collected from 41 fallow deer with or without histopathological lesions consistent with paratuberculosis. Two target antigenic preparations were selected, an ethanol-treated protoplasmic preparation obtained from a fallow deer M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolate (ELISAs A and B) and a paratuberculosis protoplasmic antigen (PPA3) (ELISAs C and D). Fallow deer antibodies bound to the immobilized antigens were detected by using a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated anti-fallow deer IgG antibody (ELISAs A and C) or HRP-conjugated protein G (ELISAs B and D). A commercially available assay, ELISA-E, which was designed to detect M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis antibodies in cattle, sheep, and goats, was also tested. Although ELISAs A, C, and E had the same sensitivity (72%), ELISAs A and C were more specific (100%) for detecting fallow deer with lesions consistent with paratuberculosis at necropsy than was the ELISA-E (87.5%). In addition, the ELISA-A was particularly sensitive for detecting fallow deer in the latent stages of infection (62.5%). The antibody responses detected with the ELISA-A correlated with both the severity of enteric lesions and the presence of acid-fast bacteria in gut tissue samples. In summary, our study shows that the ELISA-A can be a cost-effective diagnostic tool for preventing the spread of paratuberculosis among fallow deer populations. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  8. Sensitive and Specific Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting Serum Antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Fallow Deer

    PubMed Central

    Prieto, José M.; Balseiro, Ana; Casais, Rosa; Abendaño, Naiara; Fitzgerald, Liam E.; Garrido, Joseba M.; Juste, Ramon A.

    2014-01-01

    The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the diagnostic test most commonly used in efforts to control paratuberculosis in domestic ruminants. However, commercial ELISAs have not been validated for detecting antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in wild animals. In this study, we compared the sensitivities and specificities of five ELISAs using individual serum samples collected from 41 fallow deer with or without histopathological lesions consistent with paratuberculosis. Two target antigenic preparations were selected, an ethanol-treated protoplasmic preparation obtained from a fallow deer M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis isolate (ELISAs A and B) and a paratuberculosis protoplasmic antigen (PPA3) (ELISAs C and D). Fallow deer antibodies bound to the immobilized antigens were detected by using a horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-conjugated anti-fallow deer IgG antibody (ELISAs A and C) or HRP-conjugated protein G (ELISAs B and D). A commercially available assay, ELISA-E, which was designed to detect M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis antibodies in cattle, sheep, and goats, was also tested. Although ELISAs A, C, and E had the same sensitivity (72%), ELISAs A and C were more specific (100%) for detecting fallow deer with lesions consistent with paratuberculosis at necropsy than was the ELISA-E (87.5%). In addition, the ELISA-A was particularly sensitive for detecting fallow deer in the latent stages of infection (62.5%). The antibody responses detected with the ELISA-A correlated with both the severity of enteric lesions and the presence of acid-fast bacteria in gut tissue samples. In summary, our study shows that the ELISA-A can be a cost-effective diagnostic tool for preventing the spread of paratuberculosis among fallow deer populations. PMID:24872517

  9. 9 CFR 147.7 - Standard test procedures for mycoplasma. 5

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... plate agglutination test, the tube agglutination test, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA... accurate however, and are useful in evaluating serum samples that react with the ELISA, plate, and/or tube...

  10. 9 CFR 147.7 - Standard test procedures for mycoplasma. 5

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... plate agglutination test, the tube agglutination test, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA... accurate however, and are useful in evaluating serum samples that react with the ELISA, plate, and/or tube...

  11. 9 CFR 147.7 - Standard test procedures for mycoplasma. 5

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... plate agglutination test, the tube agglutination test, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA... accurate however, and are useful in evaluating serum samples that react with the ELISA, plate, and/or tube...

  12. 9 CFR 147.6 - Procedure for determining the status of flocks reacting to tests for Mycoplasma gallisepticum...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... agglutination test, enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA), official molecular examination procedure, or... the tube agglutination, ELISA, or serum plate test is positive, the hemaglutination inhibition (HI...

  13. 9 CFR 147.6 - Procedure for determining the status of flocks reacting to tests for Mycoplasma gallisepticum...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... agglutination test, enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA), official molecular examination procedure, or... the tube agglutination, ELISA, or serum plate test is positive, the hemaglutination inhibition (HI...

  14. 9 CFR 147.7 - Standard test procedures for mycoplasma. 5

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... plate agglutination test, the tube agglutination test, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA... accurate however, and are useful in evaluating serum samples that react with the ELISA, plate, and/or tube...

  15. 9 CFR 147.6 - Procedure for determining the status of flocks reacting to tests for Mycoplasma gallisepticum...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... agglutination test, enzyme-labeled immunosorbent assay (ELISA), official molecular examination procedure, or... the tube agglutination, ELISA, or serum plate test is positive, the hemaglutination inhibition (HI...

  16. 9 CFR 147.7 - Standard test procedures for mycoplasma. 5

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... plate agglutination test, the tube agglutination test, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA... accurate however, and are useful in evaluating serum samples that react with the ELISA, plate, and/or tube...

  17. Prevalence of antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi in horses from Mexico.

    PubMed

    Yeargan, Michelle R; Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme; Dubey, Jitender P; Howe, Daniel K

    2013-01-01

    Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a debilitating disease of horses caused by Sarcocystis neurona and Neospora hughesi. Sera from 495 horses in Durango State, Mexico were tested for anti-protozoal antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on major surface antigens of these two parasites. Antibodies to S. neurona were detected in 240 (48.5%) of the 495 horse sera tested with the rSnSAG2/4/3 trivalent ELISA. Multivariate analysis showed that exposure to S. neurona was associated with age, feeding grains and crops, and small herd size. Antibodies to N. hughesi were found in 15 (3.0%) of the 495 horse sera tested with the rNhSAG1 ELISA and confirmed by Western blot of N. hughesi tachyzoite antigen. This is the first report of S. neurona and N. hughesi exposure in horses in Mexico, and it affirms that EPM should be in the differential diagnosis for horses exhibiting signs of neurologic disease in this country. © M.R. Yeargan et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2013.

  18. Seroprevalence of West Nile and Usutu viruses in military working horses and dogs, Morocco, 2012: dog as an alternative WNV sentinel species?

    PubMed

    Durand, B; Haskouri, H; Lowenski, S; Vachiery, N; Beck, C; Lecollinet, S

    2016-07-01

    A serosurvey of 349 military working horses and 231 military working dogs was conducted in ten sites in Morocco in 2012. This survey revealed a high level of exposure of these animals to flaviviruses: seroprevalence rates of 60% in horses and of 62% in dogs were observed using a competitive West Nile virus (WNV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). Seroneutralization test results showed that the majority of cELISA-positive results were due to exposure to WNV. Further assays conducted in vaccinated horses with a DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) test indicated that anti-WNV antibodies had been stimulated through WNV natural infection. Moreover, in both species, seroneutralization tests suggested an exposure to Usutu virus (USUV). Data analysis did not show any significant difference of cELISA seropositivity risk between horses and dogs. Dogs may thus represent an interesting alternative to equines for the serological surveillance of WNV or USUV circulation, especially in areas where equine vaccination precludes passive surveillance (based on the detection of West Nile fever cases) in horses.

  19. Utility of dengue NS1 antigen rapid diagnostic test for use in difficult to reach areas and its comparison with dengue NS1 ELISA and qRT-PCR.

    PubMed

    Shukla, Mohan K; Singh, Neeru; Sharma, Ravendra K; Barde, Pradip V

    2017-07-01

    The objective of this study was to demonstrate the utility of dengue virus (DENV) non structural protein 1 (NS1) based rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for use in tribal and difficult to reach areas for early dengue (DEN) diagnosis in acute phase patients and evaluate its sensitivity and specificity against DENV NS1 enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) and real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The DENV NS1 RDT was used for preliminary diagnosis during outbreaks in difficult to reach rural and tribal areas. The diagnosis was confirmed by DENV NS1 ELISA in the laboratory. The samples were also tested and serotyped by qRT-PCR. The results were evaluated using statistical tests. The DENV NS1 RDT showed 99.2% sensitivity and 96.0% specificity when analyzed using DENV NS1 ELISA as standard. The specificity and sensitivity of the RDT when compared with qRT-PCR was 93.6% and 91.1%, respectively. The serotype specific evaluation showed more than 90% sensitivity and specificity for DENV-1, 2, and 3. The RDT proved a good diagnostic tool in difficult to reach rural and tribal areas. Further evaluation studies with different commercially available RDTs in different field conditions are essential, that will help clinicians and patients for treatment and programme managers for timely intervention. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Calculation of the ELISA's cut-off based on the change-point analysis method for detection of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in Bolivian dogs in the absence of controls.

    PubMed

    Lardeux, Frédéric; Torrico, Gino; Aliaga, Claudia

    2016-07-04

    In ELISAs, sera of individuals infected by Trypanosoma cruzi show absorbance values above a cut-off value. The cut-off is generally computed by means of formulas that need absorbance readings of negative (and sometimes positive) controls, which are included in the titer plates amongst the unknown samples. When no controls are available, other techniques should be employed such as change-point analysis. The method was applied to Bolivian dog sera processed by ELISA to diagnose T. cruzi infection. In each titer plate, the change-point analysis estimated a step point which correctly discriminated among known positive and known negative sera, unlike some of the six usual cut-off formulas tested. To analyse the ELISAs results, the change-point method was as good as the usual cut-off formula of the form "mean + 3 standard deviation of negative controls". Change-point analysis is therefore an efficient alternative method to analyse ELISA absorbance values when no controls are available.

  1. An Application of Outer Membrane Protein P6-Specific Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Haemophilus influenzae in Middle Ear Fluids and Nasopharyngeal Secretions

    PubMed Central

    Hotomi, Muneki; Togawa, Akihisa; Kono, Masamitsu; Sugita, Gen; Sugita, Rinya; Fujimaki, Yutaka; Kamide, Yosuke; Uchizono, Akihiro; Kanesada, Keiko; Sawada, Shoichi; Okitsu, Naohiro; Masuda, Hisayo; Tanaka, Hideaki; Tanaka, Yumi; Yamanaka, Noboru

    2013-01-01

    An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific to outer membrane protein P6 (P6-ELISA) was applied for detecting Haemophilus influenzae in middle ear fluids (MEFs) from acute otitis media (AOM) patients and in nasopharyngeal secretions (NPSs) from acute rhinosinusitis patients. P6-ELISA had a sensitivity of 83.3% for MEFs and 71.5% for NPSs and a specificity of 85.6% for MEFs and 92.5% for NPSs, respectively. Real-time PCR exhibited significant differences in the number of ompP1 gene copies among samples determined by P6-ELISA to be positive and negative for H. influenzae. However, because the P6-ELISA test has the reactivity in Haemophilus species include two commensals H. haemolyticus and H. parainfluenzae, it is thus a weak method in order to detect only NTHi correctly. Consequently, diagnosis using the P6-ELISA should be based on an overall evaluation, including the results of other related examinations and clinical symptoms to prevent misleading conclusions in clinical setting. PMID:24015192

  2. An application of outer membrane protein p6-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of haemophilus influenzae in middle ear fluids and nasopharyngeal secretions.

    PubMed

    Hotomi, Muneki; Togawa, Akihisa; Kono, Masamitsu; Sugita, Gen; Sugita, Rinya; Fujimaki, Yutaka; Kamide, Yosuke; Uchizono, Akihiro; Kanesada, Keiko; Sawada, Shoichi; Okitsu, Naohiro; Masuda, Hisayo; Tanaka, Hideaki; Tanaka, Yumi; Yamanaka, Noboru

    2013-01-01

    An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific to outer membrane protein P6 (P6-ELISA) was applied for detecting Haemophilus influenzae in middle ear fluids (MEFs) from acute otitis media (AOM) patients and in nasopharyngeal secretions (NPSs) from acute rhinosinusitis patients. P6-ELISA had a sensitivity of 83.3% for MEFs and 71.5% for NPSs and a specificity of 85.6% for MEFs and 92.5% for NPSs, respectively. Real-time PCR exhibited significant differences in the number of ompP1 gene copies among samples determined by P6-ELISA to be positive and negative for H. influenzae. However, because the P6-ELISA test has the reactivity in Haemophilus species include two commensals H. haemolyticus and H. parainfluenzae, it is thus a weak method in order to detect only NTHi correctly. Consequently, diagnosis using the P6-ELISA should be based on an overall evaluation, including the results of other related examinations and clinical symptoms to prevent misleading conclusions in clinical setting.

  3. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for Potomac horse fever disease.

    PubMed

    Pretzman, C I; Rikihisa, Y; Ralph, D; Gordon, J C; Bech-Nielsen, S

    1987-01-01

    An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM in natural and experimental infections of equids with Ehrlichia risticii was developed. Ehrlichial organisms purified from an infected mouse macrophage cell line were used as the antigen. IgM was separated from serum IgG by the expedient of spun-column chromatography, allowing the use of an indirect ELISA for quantitation of both IgG and IgM in the test sera. Among 16 paired sera from horses exhibiting clinical signs of Potomac horse fever, 8 were positive by the indirect fluorescent-antibody test (IFA), 11 were positive by the IgG ELISA, and 8 were positive by the IgM ELISA. All IFA-positive specimens were positive by the IgG ELISA, which appeared to be more sensitive than the IFA. In all cases, the IgG ELISA alone would have sufficed for diagnosis when acute- and convalescent-phase sera were available. When 26 single acute- or convalescent-phase serum samples were tested, the IFA detected 8, the IgG ELISA detected 10, and the IgM ELISA detected 6 positive serum specimens. The kinetics of IgG and IgM responses as determined by ELISA in two experimentally infected ponies which survived infection and challenges revealed that specific IgM was short-lived, falling to undetectable levels by day 60 postinoculation, whereas specific IgG persisted for more than 1 year. IgM and IgG were detected as early as days 1 and 10, respectively, postinoculation. The results suggest that the ELISA is more sensitive than the IFA and that the IgM ELISA may provide a means for early diagnosis of Potomac horse fever at or before the onset of clinical signs.

  4. Salivary Desmoglein Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Pemphigus Vulgaris: A Noninvasive Alternative Test to Serum Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Khatami, Alireza; Seyedin, Zahra; Daneshpazhooh, Maryam

    2015-01-01

    Background. Serum desmoglein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used for the diagnosis and monitoring of pemphigus diseases. Objectives. To compare the diagnostic accuracy of salivary antidesmoglein (Dsg) 1 and 3 ELISA in the diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients with that of serum desmogleins ELISA. Methods. Eighty-six untreated PV patients and 180 age- and sex-matched PV-free controls were recruited in this case-control study. PV was diagnosed based on clinical, histopathological, and direct immunofluorescence findings. After processing, serum and salivary anti-Dsg 1 and 3 were measured by the ELISA method using Euroimmun kit (Lübeck, Germany). Results. Using the cut-off point of 20 relative units (RU)/mL, the serum anti-Dsg 1 and 3 ELISA were positive in 62 (72.1%) and 83 (96.5%) patients, respectively, and the salivary anti-Dsg 1 and 3 ELISA were positive in 31 (36.1%) and 63 (73.3%) patients, respectively. The specificity of salivary anti-Dsg 1 and anti-Dsg 3 were both 98.9%. Optimal cut-off values of 7.7 and 13.4 RU/mL were determined for the salivary anti-Dsg 1 and anti-Dsg 3 ELISA, respectively. Conclusion. Salivary anti-Dsg 1 and 3 ELISA with high specificities (98.9%) could be suggested as safe and noninvasive methods for the diagnosis of PV when obtaining a blood sample is difficult. PMID:25688364

  5. A multiplex competitive ELISA for the detection and characterization of gluten in fermented-hydrolyzed foods.

    PubMed

    Panda, Rakhi; Boyer, Marc; Garber, Eric A E

    2017-12-01

    A novel competitive ELISA was developed utilizing the G12, R5, 2D4, MIoBS, and Skerritt antibody-HRP conjugates employed in nine commercial ELISA test kits that are routinely used for gluten detection. This novel multiplex competitive ELISA simultaneously measures gliadin-, deamidated gliadin-, and glutenin-specific epitopes. The assay was used to evaluate 20 wheat beers, 20 barley beers, 6 barley beers processed to reduce gluten, 15 soy sauces, 6 teriyaki sauces, 6 Worcestershire sauces, 6 vinegars, and 8 sourdough breads. For wheat beers, the apparent gluten concentration values obtained by the G12 and Skerritt antibodies were typically higher than those obtained using the R5 antibodies. The sourdough bread samples resulted in higher apparent gluten concentration values with the Skerritt antibody, while the values generated by the G12 and R5 antibodies were comparable. Although the soy-based sauces showed non-specific inhibition with the multiple R5 and G12 antibodies, their overall profile was distinguishable from the other categories of fermented foods. Cluster analysis of the apparent gluten concentration values obtained by the multiplex competitive ELISA, as well as the relative response of the nine gluten-specific antibodies used in the assay to different gluten proteins/peptides, distinguishes among the different categories of fermented-hydrolyzed foods by recognizing the differences in the protein/peptide profiles characteristic of each product. This novel gluten-based multiplex competitive ELISA provides insight into the extent of proteolysis resulting from various fermentation processes, which is essential for accurate gluten quantification in fermented-hydrolyzed foods. Graphical abstract A novel multiplex competitive ELISA for the detection and characterization of gluten in fermented-hydrolyzed foods.

  6. Magnetic timing valves for fluid control in paper-based microfluidics.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiao; Zwanenburg, Philip; Liu, Xinyu

    2013-07-07

    Multi-step analytical tests, such as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), require delivery of multiple fluids into a reaction zone and counting the incubation time at different steps. This paper presents a new type of paper-based magnetic valves that can count the time and turn on or off a fluidic flow accordingly, enabling timed fluid control in paper-based microfluidics. The timing capability of these valves is realized using a paper timing channel with an ionic resistor, which can detect the event of a solution flowing through the resistor and trigger an electromagnet (through a simple circuit) to open or close a paper cantilever valve. Based on this principle, we developed normally-open and normally-closed valves with a timing period up to 30.3 ± 2.1 min (sufficient for an ELISA on paper-based platforms). Using the normally-open valve, we performed an enzyme-based colorimetric reaction commonly used for signal readout of ELISAs, which requires a timed delivery of an enzyme substrate to a reaction zone. This design adds a new fluid-control component to the tool set for developing paper-based microfluidic devices, and has the potential to improve the user-friendliness of these devices.

  7. Comparison of ELISA and RT-PCR for the detection of Prunus necrotic ring spot virus and prune dwarf virus in almond (Prunus dulcis).

    PubMed

    Mekuria, Genet; Ramesh, Sunita A; Alberts, Evita; Bertozzi, Terry; Wirthensohn, Michelle; Collins, Graham; Sedgley, Margaret

    2003-12-01

    A technique based on the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been developed to detect the presence of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) and prune dwarf virus (PDV) simultaneously in almond. This paper presents the results of a 3-year study comparing both enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and RT-PCR for the detection of PNRSV and PDV using 175 almond leaf samples. Multiplex RT-PCR was found to be more sensitive than ELISA, especially when followed by nested PCR for the detection of PDV. The RT-PCR technique has the added advantage that plant material can be tested at any time throughout the growing season.

  8. Performance of six diagnostic tests to screen for Chagas disease in blood banks andprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among donors with inconclusive serologyscreening based on the analysis of epidemiological variables.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Gilberto de Araujo; Louzada-Neto, Francisco; Barbosa, Valdirene de Fátima; Ferreira-Silva, Márcia Maria; de Moraes-Souza, Helio

    2012-01-01

    The frequent occurrence of inconclusive serology in blood banks and the absence of a gold standard test for Chagas'disease led us to examine the efficacy of the blood culture test and five commercial tests (ELISA, IIF, HAI, c-ELISA, rec-ELISA) used in screening blood donors for Chagas disease, as well as to investigate the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection among donors with inconclusive serology screening in respect to some epidemiological variables. To obtain estimates of interest we considered a Bayesian latent class model with inclusion of covariates from the logit link. A better performance was observed with some categories of epidemiological variables. In addition, all pairs of tests (excluding the blood culture test) presented as good alternatives for both screening (sensitivity > 99.96% in parallel testing) and for confirmation (specificity > 99.93% in serial testing) of Chagas disease. The prevalence of 13.30% observed in the stratum of donors with inconclusive serology, means that probably most of these are non-reactive serology. In addition, depending on the level of specific epidemiological variables, the absence of infection can be predicted with a probability of 100% in this group from the pairs of tests using parallel testing. The epidemiological variables can lead to improved test results and thus assist in the clarification of inconclusive serology screening results. Moreover, all combinations of pairs using the five commercial tests are good alternatives to confirm results.

  9. Comparability of ELISA and toxin neutralization to measure immunogenicity of Protective Antigen in mice, as part of a potency test for anthrax vaccines.

    PubMed

    Parreiras, P M; Sirota, L A; Wagner, L D; Menzies, S L; Arciniega, J L

    2009-07-16

    Complexities of lethal challenge models have prompted the investigation of immunogenicity assays as potency tests of anthrax vaccines. An ELISA and a lethal toxin neutralization assay (TNA) were used to measure antibody response to Protective Antigen (PA) in mice immunized once with either a commercial or a recombinant PA (rPA) vaccine formulated in-house. Even though ELISA and TNA results showed correlation, ELISA results may not be able to accurately predict TNA results in this single immunization model.

  10. Evaluation of Commercially Available Anti–Dengue Virus Immunoglobulin M Tests

    PubMed Central

    Hunsperger, Elizabeth A.; Yoksan, Sutee; Buchy, Philippe; Nguyen, Vinh Chau; Sekaran, Shamala D.; Enria, Delia A.; Pelegrino, Jose L.; Vázquez, Susana; Artsob, Harvey; Drebot, Michael; Gubler, Duane J.; Halstead, Scott B.; Guzmán, María G.; Margolis, Harold S.; Nathanson, Carl-Michael; Lic, Nidia R. Rizzo; Bessoff, Kovi E.; Kliks, Srisakul

    2009-01-01

    Anti–dengue virus immunoglobulin M kits were evaluated. Test sensitivities were 21%–99% and specificities were 77%–98% compared with reference ELISAs. False-positive results were found for patients with malaria or past dengue infections. Three ELISAs showing strong agreement with reference ELISAs will be included in the World Health Organization Bulk Procurement Scheme. PMID:19239758

  11. An ELISA using recombinant TmHSP70 for the diagnosis of Taenia multiceps infections in goats.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yu; Nie, Huaming; Gu, Xiaobin; Wang, Tao; Huang, Xing; Chen, Lin; Lai, Weimin; Peng, Xuerong; Yang, Guangyou

    2015-09-15

    Infections with the tapeworm Taenia multiceps are problematic for ruminant farming worldwide. Here we develop a novel and rapid method for serodiagnosis of T. multiceps infections via an indirect ELISA (iELISA) that uses a heat shock protein, namely, TmHSP70. We extracted the total RNA of T. multiceps from the protoscoleces of cysts dissected from the brains of infected goats. Subsequently, we successfully amplified, cloned and expressed the TmHSP70 gene in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Western blot analysis showed that the recombinant protein (∼34 kDa molecular weight) was recognized by the coenurosis positive serum. Given these initial, robust immunogenic properties for recombinant TmHSP protein, we assessed the ELISA-based serodiagnostic potential of this gene. The indirect ELISA was then optimized to 2.70 μg/well dilution for antigen and 1:80 dilution for serum,while the cut-off value is 0.446. We report that our novel TmHSP ELISA detected T. multiceps sera with a sensitivity of 1:10240 and a specificity of 83.3% (5/6). In a preliminary application, this assay correctly confirmed T. multiceps infection in 30 infected goats, consistent with the clinical examination. This study has revealed that our novel iELISA, which uses the rTmHSP protein, provides a rapid test for diagnosing coenurosis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. An indirect ELISA for detection of Theileria spp. antibodies using a recombinant protein (rTlSP) from Theileria luwenshuni.

    PubMed

    He, Haining; Li, Youquan; Liu, Junlong; Liu, Zhijie; Yang, Jifei; Liu, Aihong; Chen, Ze; Ren, Qiaoyun; Guan, Guiquan; Liu, Guangyuan; Luo, Jianxun; Yin, Hong

    2016-07-01

    Theileria is a tick-borne, intracellular protozoan parasite of worldwide economic and veterinary importance in small ruminants. Here, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed based on Theileria luwenshuni recombinant surface protein (rTlSP) and was used in the standardization and validation of an ELISA for the detection of circulating antibodies against ovine and caprine theileriosis. A total of 233 sera samples were used for the calculation of the cut-off value which served as a threshold between the positive and the negative sera. When the positive threshold was chosen as 19% of the specific mean antibody rate, the specificity was 97.9%, and the sensitivity was 97.1%. There was a cross-reaction with sera against Theileria uilenbergi and Theileria ovis, and no cross-reaction with sera against Babesia spp. in the ELISA and Western blotting. Two hundred forty samples collected from sheep in Gansu province were detected with blood smears and ELISA, respectively. The results showed that the positive rate of Theileria infection in Gansu province were 63.75% with rTlSP-ELISA, and 46.67% with blood smears, respectively. Our test proved that the rTlSP ELISA is suitable to diagnose Theileria infection and could be used in serological surveys to map out the prevalence of ovine and caprine theileriosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Bayesian modelling to estimate the test characteristics of coprology, coproantigen ELISA and a novel real-time PCR for the diagnosis of taeniasis.

    PubMed

    Praet, Nicolas; Verweij, Jaco J; Mwape, Kabemba E; Phiri, Isaac K; Muma, John B; Zulu, Gideon; van Lieshout, Lisette; Rodriguez-Hidalgo, Richar; Benitez-Ortiz, Washington; Dorny, Pierre; Gabriël, Sarah

    2013-05-01

    To estimate and compare the performances of coprology, copro-Ag ELISA and real-time polymerase chain reaction assay (copro-PCR) for detection of Taenia solium tapeworm carriers. The three diagnostic tests were applied on 817 stool samples collected in two Zambian communities where taeniasis is endemic. A Bayesian approach was used to allow estimation of the test characteristics. Two (0.2%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0-0.8), 67 (8.2%; 95% CI: 6.4-10.3) and 10 (1.2%; 95% CI: 0.5-2.2) samples were positive using coprology, copro-Ag ELISA and copro-PCR, respectively. Specificities of 99.9%, 92.0% and 99.0% were determined for coprology, copro-Ag ELISA and copro-PCR, respectively. Sensitivities of 52.5%, 84.5% and 82.7% were determined for coprology, copro-Ag ELISA and copro-PCR, respectively. We urge for additional studies exploring possible cross-reactions of the copro-Ag ELISA and for the use of more sensitive tests, such as copro-PCR, for the detection of tapeworm carriers, which is a key factor in controlling the parasite in endemic areas. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Validation of an improved Anaplasma antibody competitive ELISA for detection of Anaplasma ovis antibody in domestic sheep.

    PubMed

    Mason, Kathleen L; Gonzalez, Michael V; Chung, Chungwon; Mousel, Michelle R; White, Stephen N; Taylor, Joshua B; Scoles, Glen A

    2017-09-01

    An accurate and simple-to-perform new version of a competitive ELISA (cELISA) kit that became commercially available in 2015 for testing of cattle for antibody to Anaplasma marginale was validated for detection of Anaplasma ovis antibody in domestic sheep. True positives and negatives were identified using nested PCR (nPCR) as the gold standard. Negative bovine control sera supplied with the kit were used to calculate % inhibition (%I), designated bovine control ELISA (BcELISA), and this was compared to %I calculated from negative ovine sera derived from hand-raised, pathogen-free sheep, designated ovine control ELISA (OcELISA). The receiver operating characteristics area under the curve was 1.0 with a p value <0.001 regardless of the source of the control sera. The cutoff values for negative BcELISA and OcELISA were <30%I and <27%I, respectively. Our work confirmed that this Anaplasma antibody cELISA kit version 2 can be used with the serum controls supplied in the kit to test for A. ovis antibody in domestic sheep. Furthermore, this work confirmed the historically high infection prevalence (>93%) at the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station (Dubois, Idaho), in spite of efforts to reduce the possibility for iatrogenic transmission there, suggesting high levels of tick-borne transmission.

  15. Aspergillus antigen testing in bone marrow transplant recipients

    PubMed Central

    Williamson, E; Oliver, D; Johnson, E; Foot, A; Marks, D; Warnock, D

    2000-01-01

    Aims—To assess the clinical usefulness of a commercial aspergillus antigen enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) in bone marrow transplant recipients, and to compare it with a commercial latex agglutination (LA) test. Methods—In total, 2026 serum samples from 104 bone marrow transplant recipients were tested. These comprised 67 sera from seven patients who had died with confirmed IA, 268 sera from nine patients who had died with suspected IA, and 1691 sera from 88 patients with no clinical, radiological, or microbiological signs of IA. Results—The ELISA was more sensitive than the LA test. All patients who were ELISA positive were also LA positive, and a positive LA result never preceded a positive ELISA. Twelve of 16 patients with confirmed or suspected IA were ELISA positive on two or more occasions, compared with 10 of 15 who were LA positive. ELISA was positive before LA in five patients (range, 2–14 days), and became positive on the same day in the remainder. Aspergillus antigen was detected by ELISA a median of 15 days before death (range, 4–233). Clinical and/or radiological evidence of IA was noted in all patients, and a positive ELISA was never the sole criterion for introduction of antifungal treatment. Two samples (one from each of two patients without IA) gave false positive results. Conclusions—The aspergillus ELISA is a specific indicator of invasive aspergillosis if the criterion of two positive samples is required to confirm the diagnosis. However, the test is insufficiently sensitive to diagnose aspergillosis before other symptoms or signs are apparent, and hence is unlikely to lead to earlier initiation of antifungal treatment. It is therefore unsuitable for screening of asymptomatic patients at risk of invasive aspergillosis, but does have a useful role in confirming the diagnosis in symptomatic patients. Key Words: invasive aspergillosis • aspergillus antigen • Platelia enzyme linked immunosorbent assay PMID:10889818

  16. Borderline positive antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-PR3/MPO detection in a large cohort tertiary center: lessons learnt from a real-life experience.

    PubMed

    Watad, Abdulla; Bragazzi, Nicola L; Sharif, Kassem; Gilburd, Boris; Yavne, Yarden; McGonagle, Dennis; Amital, Howard; Shoenfeld, Yehuda

    2018-05-24

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) are the best strategies for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) detection. In a minority of subjects, ELISA-based ANCA testing may result in a borderline positive titre. Therefore, we assessed the clinical significance of such a result. This is a retrospective study, which included all subjects screened for ANCA subtypes (myeloperoxidase (MPO) or proteinase-3 (PR3)) with subsequent identification of borderline positive results, as determined by ELISA and retested using IIF. The demographic, clinical and laboratory data of subjects with borderline positive ANCA test results were extracted from their medical records. A total of 14,555 PR3/MPO-ANCA tests were performed with ELISA during the study period (2006-2016). Of the 14,555 PR3-ANCA antibody tests that were performed, 94 were borderline positive (titre 0.9-1.1), and of 14,555 MPO-ANCA antibody tests, 43 were borderline positive (titre 0.9-1.1). The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.08 and the mean age was 50.95±21.79 years. Four MPO-ANCA (9.30%) and 11 PR3-ANCA (11.70%) antibody borderline samples resulted positive on IIF testing. Subjects with borderline positive MPO-ANCA were found to have a poorer outcome in terms of renal failure and the requirement of dialysis. Subjects with borderline positive MPO-ANCA and positive p-ANCA (IIF) seem to have a less favorable outcome. Physicians should be aware of these findings and possibly perform a closer follow-up and routine screening for these subjects.

  17. Evaluation of a multiplex immunoassay for bovine respiratory syncytial virus and bovine coronavirus antibodies in bulk tank milk against two indirect ELISAs using latent class analysis.

    PubMed

    Toftaker, Ingrid; Toft, Nils; Stokstad, Maria; Sølverød, Liv; Harkiss, Gordon; Watt, Neil; O' Brien, Amanda; Nødtvedt, Ane

    2018-06-01

    Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and bovine coronavirus (BCV) are responsible for respiratory disease and diarrhea in cattle worldwide. The Norwegian control program against these infections is based on herd-level diagnosis using a new multiplex immunoassay. The objective of this study was to estimate sensitivity and specificity across different cut-off values for the MVD-Enferplex BCV/BRSV multiplex, by comparing them to a commercially available ELISA, the SVANOVIR ® BCV-Ab and SVANOVIR ® BRSV-Ab, respectively. We analyzed bulk tank milk samples from 360 herds in a low- and 360 herds in a high-prevalence area. As none of the tests were considered perfect, estimation of test characteristics was performed using Bayesian latent class models. At the manufacturers' recommended cut-off values, the median sensitivity for the BRSV multiplex and the BRSV ELISA was 94.4 [89.8-98.7 95% Posterior Credibility Interval (PCI)] and 99.8 [98.7-100 95% PCI], respectively. The median specificity for the BRSV multiplex was 90.6 [85.5-94.4 95% PCI], but only 57.4 [50.5-64.4 95% PCI] for the BRSV ELISA. However, increasing the cut-off of the BRSV ELISA increased specificity without compromising sensitivity. For the BCV multiplex we found that by using only one of the three antigens included in the test, the specificity increased, without concurrent loss in sensitivity. At the recommended cut-off this resulted in a sensitivity of 99.9 [99.3-100 95% PCI] and specificity of 93.7 [88.8-97.8 95% PCI] for the multiplex and a sensitivity of 99.5 [98.1-100 95% PCI] and a specificity of 99.6 [97.6-100 95% PCI] for the BCV ELISA. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Variations in the detection of anti-PEDV antibodies in serum samples using three diagnostic tests - short communication.

    PubMed

    Plut, Jan; Toplak, Ivan; Štukelj, Marina

    2018-06-01

    Over the last few years several porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) outbreaks have been discovered in Europe including the first PED case in Slovenia in January 2015. The aim of this study was to determine when PED virus (PEDV) infection started in Slovenia. Serum samples collected between 2012 and 2016 were tested. Three hundred and seventy-five serum samples were collected from 132 Slovenian small, one-site pig farms. Samples were tested for PEDV antibodies utilising three different serological methods: commercially-available indirect ELISA, in-house blocking ELISA test and Immunoperoxidase Monolayer Assay (IPMA) test. One hundred and seventy (45.33%) tested samples were found positive by the commercially-available ELISA test kit, and 10 (5.68%) of these 170 samples found positive were positive by the in-house blocking ELISA. Only these 10 samples were collected from a farm where clinical signs of PED infection had been observed and PEDV was confirmed by RT-PCR methodology; the other 160 samples were collected randomly. Thirty-two samples with the highest S/P value obtained with the commercial ELISA were all negative with IPMA. Reasons for the high variance in the results obtained remain unclear; more research is required to ensure higher sensitivity and specificity in terms of PEDV antibody tests and other PED diagnostic methods.

  19. Misdiagnosed HIV infection in pregnant women initiating universal ART in South Africa.

    PubMed

    Hsiao, Nei-Yuan; Zerbe, Allison; Phillips, Tamsin K; Myer, Landon; Abrams, Elaine J

    2017-08-29

    Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are the primary diagnostic tools for HIV used in resource-constrained settings. Without a proper confirmation algorithm, there is concern that false-positive (FP) RDTs could result in misdiagnosis of HIV infection and inappropriate antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation, but programmatic data on FP are few. We examined the accuracy of RDT diagnosis among HIV-infected pregnant women attending public sector antenatal services in Cape Town, South Africa. We describe the proportion of women found to have started on ART erroneously due to FP RDT results based on pre-ART viral load (VL) testing and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We analysed 952 consecutively enrolled pregnant women diagnosed as HIV infected based on two RDTs per local guideline and found 4.5% (43/952) of pre-ART VL results to be <50 copies/ml. After excluding 6 women who had detectable virus on subsequent VL measurements, ELISA was performed on the 37 remaining women. Of these, 3/952 (0.3%) HIV RDT diagnoses were found to be FP. We estimate that using ELISA to confirm all positive RDTs would cost $1110 (uncertainty interval $381-$5382) to identify one patient erroneously initiated on ART, while it costs $3912 for a lifetime of antiretrovirals with VL monitoring for one person. Compared to the cost of confirming the RDT-based diagnoses, the cost of HIV misdiagnosis is high. While testing programmes based on RDT should strive for constant quality improvement, where resources permit, laboratory confirmation algorithms can play an important role in strengthening the quality of HIV diagnosis in the era of universal ART.

  20. Unsuspected Leptospirosis Is a Cause of Acute Febrile Illness in Nicaragua

    PubMed Central

    Reller, Megan E.; Wunder, Elsio A.; Miles, Jeremy J.; Flom, Judith E.; Mayorga, Orlando; Woods, Christopher W.; Ko, Albert I.; Dumler, J. Stephen; Matute, Armando J.

    2014-01-01

    Background Epidemic severe leptospirosis was recognized in Nicaragua in 1995, but unrecognized epidemic and endemic disease remains unstudied. Methodology/Principal Findings To determine the burden of and risk factors associated with symptomatic leptospirosis in Nicaragua, we prospectively studied patients presenting with fever at a large teaching hospital. Epidemiologic and clinical features were systematically recorded, and paired sera tested by IgM-ELISA to identify patients with probable and possible acute leptospirosis. Microscopic Agglutination Test and PCR were used to confirm acute leptospirosis. Among 704 patients with paired sera tested by MAT, 44 had acute leptospirosis. Patients with acute leptospirosis were more likely to present during rainy months and to report rural residence and fresh water exposure. The sensitivity of clinical impression and acute-phase IgM detected by ELISA were poor. Conclusions/Significance Leptospirosis is a common (6.3%) but unrecognized cause of acute febrile illness in Nicaragua. Rapid point-of-care tests to support early diagnosis and treatment as well as tests to support population-based studies to delineate the epidemiology, incidence, and clinical spectrum of leptospirosis, both ideally pathogen-based, are needed. PMID:25058149

  1. Comparative evaluation of three different ELISA methods for the diagnosis of early culture-confirmed Lyme disease in Italy.

    PubMed

    Marangoni, Antonella; Sparacino, Monica; Cavrini, Francesca; Storni, Elisa; Mondardini, Valeria; Sambri, Vittorio; Cevenini, Roberto

    2005-04-01

    In this study the raising and development of the immune response to Borrelia burgdorferi infection in 45 Italian patients suffering from culture-confirmed Lyme borreliosis erythema migrans was investigated. A total of 95 serially collected serum samples were tested by using three different commercial ELISAs: recomWell Borrelia (Mikrogen), Enzygnost Borreliosis (DADE Behring) and Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia (Immunetics). The sensitivities of the ELISAs were as follows: Enzygnost Borreliosis IgM, 70.5 %; Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia, 62.1 %; recomWell Borrelia IgM, 55.7 %; recomWell Borrelia IgG, 57.9 %; and Enzygnost Borreliosis IgG, 36.8 %. In order to compare the specificity values of the three ELISAs, a panel of sera obtained from blood donors (210 samples coming from a non-endemic area and 24 samples from an endemic area) was tested, as well as sera from patients suffering from some of the most common biological conditions that could result in false-positive reactivity in Lyme disease serology (n = 40). RecomWell Borrelia IgG and recomWell Borrelia IgM were the most specific (97.1 % and 98.9 %, respectively), followed by Quick ELISA C6 Borrelia (96.7 %). Enzygnost Borreliosis IgG and IgM achieved 90.1 % and 92.3 % specificity, respectively. Sera that gave discrepant results when tested by the three ELISAs were further analysed by Western blotting.

  2. Improved quantification of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit for measuring anti-MDA5 antibody.

    PubMed

    Gono, Takahisa; Okazaki, Yuka; Murakami, Akihiro; Kuwana, Masataka

    2018-04-09

    To compare the quantitative performance for measuring anti-MDA5 antibody titer of two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems: an in-house ELISA and the commercial MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test. Anti-MDA5 antibody titer was measured in sera from 70 patients with dermatomyositis using an in-house ELISA and the MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test side-by-side. For the commercial ELISA kit, serum samples diluted 1:101 were used according to the manufacturer's protocol, but serial dilutions of sera were also examined to identify the optimal serum dilution for quantification. The anti-MDA5 antibody titers measured by the in-house and commercial ELISAs were positively correlated with each other (r = 0.53, p = .0001), but the antibody titer measured by the commercial ELISA was less sensitive to change after medical treatment, and 37 (80%) of 46 anti-MDA5-positive sera had antibody titer exceeding the quantification range specified by the manufacturer (≥150 index). Experiments using diluted serum samples revealed that diluting the sera 1:5050 improved the quantitative performance of the MESACUP TM anti-MDA5 test, including a better correlation with the in-house ELISA results and an increased sensitivity to change. We improved the ability of the commercial ELISA kit to quantify anti-MDA5 antibody titer by altering its protocol.

  3. pLDH level of clinically isolated Plasmodium vivax and detection limit of pLDH based malaria rapid diagnostic test.

    PubMed

    Jang, Jin Woo; Cho, Chi Hyun; Han, Eun Taek; An, Seong Soo A; Lim, Chae Seung

    2013-06-03

    The malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are now widely used in the world. Compared to Plasmodium falciparum, a poor sensitivity of RDTs was reported against Plasmodium vivax based on the adopted antibody against pan-Plasmodium antigen lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) or aldolase. Levels of pLDH were measured from patient with P. vivax, and the correlations between the levels of pLDH and the sensitivities of RDTs were analysed among Republic of Korea (ROK) isolates. Three RDTs, OptiMAL test, SD BIOLINE Malaria Ag P.f/Pan test, Humasis Malaria Pf/Pan antigen test, and the Genedia pLDH antigen ELISA were performed with blood samples from 152 febrile patients and 100 healthy controls. Three malaria RDTs revealed sensitivities between 85.5 (131/152) and 86.8% (132/152) with highest sensitivity for the detection of P.vivax by pLDH antigen ELISA test (145/152, 95.4%) in comparison to traditional microscopy using Giemsa-stained slides. None of the healthy control tested positive by three RDTs or ELISA, indicating 100% specificity in their respective test. Levels of pLDH among Korean P. vivax isolates ranged between 0 ng/mL and 22,387.2 ng/mL (mean ± standard deviation 3,917.5 ± 6,120.9 ng/mL). The lower detection limits of three RDTs were between 25 and 50 ng/mL with artificially diluted samples. The moderate degree of correlation was observed between parasitaemia and concentrations of pLDH (r = 0.4, p < 0.05). The pLDH levels of P. vivax are the main explanation for the variations in the performance of pLDH-based RDTs. Therefore, comparing sensitivities of RDT may need to include targeted biomarker value of patients.

  4. Development of an indirect ELISA based on the recombinant Spm2 protein for detection of tropical theileriosis.

    PubMed

    Tian, Zhancheng; Du, Xiaoyue; Du, Junzheng; Gao, Shandian; Yu, Ruiming; Hassan, Muhammad Adeel; Liu, Guangyuan; Luo, Jianxun; Yin, Hong

    2018-06-01

    Tropical theileriosis, caused by Theileria annulata, is distributed worldwide and causes great economic losses in dairy. The reliable diagnostic method is critical for prevention and control of the disease. In this study, a sporozoite and macroschizont gene 2 (spm2) protein from T. annulata was used to develop an indirect ELISA for tropical theileriosis. Specificity test showed that there were no cross-reactions with antibodies raised against other bovine piroplasm species using ELISA or western blotting. The specificity and sensitivity were 98.4% and 98.7%, respectively, with a threshold of 35.5% of the specific mean antibody rate (AbR). Furthermore, a total of 196 field sera samples collected from Xinjiang and Gansu provinces were detected by the spm2 ELISA and IFA. The results obtained with the spm2 ELISA and IFA in this study had the moderate agreement. The average positive rates of T. annulata sera samples detected in the present study were close to the prevalence of previous reports in these endemic areas. This indicated that the Spm2 ELISA could be used as a reliable diagnostic tool for serological survey of T. annulata infection in areas where Theileria parva is not present. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Detection of toxoplasma-specific immunoglobulin G in human sera: performance comparison of in house Dot-ELISA with ECLIA and ELISA.

    PubMed

    Teimouri, Aref; Modarressi, Mohammad Hossein; Shojaee, Saeedeh; Mohebali, Mehdi; Zouei, Nima; Rezaian, Mostafa; Keshavarz, Hossein

    2018-05-08

    In the current study, performance of electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) in detection of anti-toxoplasma IgG in human sera was compared with that of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, performance of an in house Dot-ELISA in detection of anti-toxoplasma IgG was compared with that of ECLIA and ELISA. In total, 219 human sera were tested to detect anti-toxoplasma IgG using Dynex DS2® and Roche Cobas® e411 Automated Analyzers. Discordant results rechecked using immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Then, sera were used in an in house Dot-ELISA to assess toxoplasma-specific IgG. Of the 219 samples, two samples were found undetermined using ECLIA but reactive using ELISA. Using IFA, the two sera were reported unreactive. Furthermore, two samples were found reactive using ECLIA and unreactive using ELISA. These samples were reported reactive using IFA. The overall agreement for the two former methods was 98% (rZ0.98.1; P < 0.001). The intrinsic parameters calculated for in house Dot-ELISA included sensitivity of 79.5, specificity of 78.2, and accuracy of 78.9%, compared to ECLIA and ELISA. Positive and negative predictive values included 82.9 and 74.2%, respectively. A 100% sensitivity was found in in house Dot-ELISA for highly reactive sera in ECLIA and ELISA. ECLIA is appropriate for the first-line serological screening tests and can replace ELISA due to high speed, sensitivity, and specificity, particularly in large laboratories. Dot-ELISA is a rapid, sensitive, specific, cost-effective, user-friendly, and field-portable technique and hence can be used for screening toxoplasmosis, especially in rural fields or less equipped laboratories.

  6. Evaluation of six serological ELISA kits available in Italy as screening tests for equine infectious anaemia surveillance.

    PubMed

    Nardini, Roberto; Autorino, Gian Luca; Issel, Charles J; Cook, R Frank; Ricci, Ida; Frontoso, Raffaele; Rosone, Francesca; Scicluna, Maria Teresa

    2017-04-14

    ELISAs are known to have a higher diagnostic sensitivity than the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) when employed for serological diagnosis of equine infectious anaemia (EIA). For this purpose, an "in-house" and five commercial ELISAs available in Italy were assessed by the National Reference Centre for EIA for their analytic specificity (Sp); precocity, defined as capability of detecting first antibodies produced during a new infection; precision based on repeatability and reproducibility, estimated from the coefficient of variation (CV); accuracy, estimated from multiple K and relative Sp and sensitivity (Se). Two serum panels, positive for non-equine retroviruses and the most frequent equine viruses, were employed to measure analytic Sp. ELISA precocity was also compared to that of one "in-house" and three commercial AGID kits, employing a panel of sera, collected weekly from horses infected with modified EIA viruses. Precision and accuracy were defined using results of a panel containing positive and negative sera examined in an inter-laboratory trial with the participation of the ten Official Laboratories. Furthermore, a questionnaire was used to assess the appropriateness of each kit for routine use. Analytic Sp was 100%, while the 75th percentile of CVs for positive sera varied from 0.4% to 12.73% for repeatability and from 1.6% to 44.87% for reproducibility. Although CV of the negative serum was constantly high, its outcome was unaltered. Relative Se ranged from 98.2% to 100%, relative Sp was constantly 100% and multiple K ranged from 0.95 to 1. Precocity differed among the assays: three kits detected 4.8% and 42.9% positive samples on 21 days post infection (dpi), all assays detected positive samples on 28 dpi, between 47.6% and 95.2%. Precocity of ELISAs was superior to that of the AGIDs except for two assays. In view of the feedback obtained from the questionnaires, all kits were considered appropriate for routine use. All ELISAs having high Se and precocity are preferable as a screening test in EIA surveillance programmes to the AGID tests examined. These two tests can be incorporated in a serial diagnostic pathway to improve the efficacy of a surveillance plan.

  7. Chemiluminescent optical fiber immunosensor for the detection of anti-West Nile virus IgG.

    PubMed

    Herrmann, Sebastien; Leshem, Boaz; Landes, Shimi; Rager-Zisman, Bracha; Marks, Robert S

    2005-03-31

    An ELISA-based optical fiber methodology developed for the detection of anti-West Nile virus IgG antibodies in serum was compared to standard colorimetric and chemiluminescent ELISA based on microtiter plates. Colorimetric ELISA was the least sensitive, especially at high titer dilutions. The fiber-optic immunosensor based on the same ELISA immunological rationale was the most sensitive technique.

  8. Loss of sensitivity of immunochromatographic test (ICT) for lymphatic filariasis diagnosis in low prevalence settings: consequence in the monitoring and evaluation procedures.

    PubMed

    Gounoue-Kamkumo, Raceline; Nana-Djeunga, Hugues C; Bopda, Jean; Akame, Julie; Tarini, Ann; Kamgno, Joseph

    2015-12-23

    Diagnostic tools for lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination programs are useful in mapping the distribution of the disease, delineating areas where mass drug administrations (MDA) are required, and determining when to stop MDA. The prevalence and burden of LF have been drastically reduced following mass treatments, and the evaluation of the performance of circulating filarial antigen (CFA)-based assays was acknowledged to be of high interest in areas with low residual LF endemicity rates after multiple rounds of MDA. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the immunochromatographic test (ICT) sensitivity in low endemicity settings and, specifically, in individuals with low intensity of lymphatic filariasis infection. To perform this study, calibrated thick blood smears, ICT and Og4C3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were carried out by night to identify Wuchereria bancrofti microfilarial and circulating filarial antigen carriers. A threshold determination assay regarding ICT and ELISA was performed using serial plasma dilutions from individuals with positive microfilarial counts. All individuals harbouring microfilariae (positive blood films) were detected by ICT and ELISA, but among individuals positive for ELISA, only 35.7 % of them were detected using ICT (Chi square: 4.57; p-value = 0.03), indicating a moderate agreement between both tests (kappa statistics = 0.49). Threshold determination analyses showed that ELISA was still positive at the last plasma dilution with negative ICT result. These findings suggest a loss of sensitivity for ICT in low endemicity settings, especially in people exhibiting low levels of circulating filarial antigen, raising serious concern regarding the monitoring and evaluation procedures in the framework of LF elimination program.

  9. Evaluation of serological tests for detecting tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) antibodies in animals.

    PubMed

    Klaus, Christine; Beer, Martin; Saier, Regine; Schubert, Harald; Bischoff, Sabine; Süss, Jochen

    2011-01-01

    Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in animals is not well understood yet. TBE virus (TBEV) serology in several host species could be valuable for epidemiological analyses in the field as well as for the detection of clinical cases. However, performance and suitability of the available test systems are not well assessed. Therefore, we evaluated two commercial TBEV-ELISA kits in a pilot study and compared them for their suitability in veterinary applications. For this purpose, we tested 163 field collected goat sera and evaluated the results by serum neutralization test (SNT) as "gold standard". Twenty-eight SNT positive sera (17.2%) were detected. The best suited ELISA kit was used for determination of a species-specific cutoff for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, mice, dogs, rabbits and monkeys with defined sera from animals without known or with improbable contact to TBEV. The level of non-specific ELISA results does not only differ between animal species but may also be influenced by the age of the tested animals. The number of sera which tested false positive by ELISA was higher in older than in young sheep. In order to obtain defined polyclonal sera as references, two dogs, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits and pigs each, as well as one horse and 90 mice were immunized four times with a commercially available TBEV vaccine. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that commercial TBEV-ELISA kits are suitable for application in veterinary medicine for both, verification of clinical TBE cases and epidemiological screening. However, positive ELISA results should be verified by SNT. Only a very low number of false negative ELISA-results were found.

  10. Evaluation of monoclonal antibody-based sandwich direct ELISA (MSD-ELISA) for antigen detection of foot-and-mouth disease virus using clinical samples.

    PubMed

    Morioka, Kazuki; Fukai, Katsuhiko; Sakamoto, Kenichi; Yoshida, Kazuo; Kanno, Toru

    2014-01-01

    A monoclonal antibody-based sandwich direct ELISA (MSD-ELISA) method was previously developed for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) viral antigen detection. Here we evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of two FMD viral antigen detection MSD-ELISAs and compared them with conventional indirect sandwich (IS)-ELISA. The MSD-ELISAs were able to detect the antigen in saliva samples of experimentally-infected pigs for a longer term compared to the IS-ELISA. We also used 178 RT-PCR-positive field samples from cattle and pigs affected by the 2010 type-O FMD outbreak in Japan, and we found that the sensitivities of both MSD-ELISAs were about 7 times higher than that of the IS-ELISA against each sample (P<0.01). In terms of the FMD-positive farm detection rate, the sensitivities of the MSD-ELISAs were about 6 times higher than that of the IS-ELISA against each farm (P<0.01). Although it is necessary to conduct further validation study using the other virus strains, MSD-ELISAs could be appropriate as a method to replace IS-ELISA for FMD antigen detection.

  11. Molecular methods to detect Mycoplasma spp. And Testudinid herpesvirus 2 in desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and implications for disease management.

    PubMed

    Braun, Josephine; Schrenzel, Mark; Witte, Carmel; Gokool, Larisa; Burchell, Jennifer; Rideout, Bruce A

    2014-10-01

    Abstract Mycoplasmas are an important cause of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) and have been a main focus in attempts to mitigate disease-based population declines. Infection risk can vary with an animal's population of origin, making screening tests popular tools for determining infection status in individuals and populations. To provide additional methods for investigating URTD we developed quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays specific for agents causing clinical signs of URTD: Mycoplasma agassizii, Mycoplasma testudineum, and Testudinid herpesvirus 2 (TeHV2) and tested necropsied desert tortoises housed at the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, as well as wild desert tortoises (n=3), during 2010. Findings were compared with M. agassizii enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) data. Based on qPCR, the prevalence of M. agassizii was 75% (33/44) and the prevalence of TeHV2 was 48% (20/42) in the evaluated population. Both agents were also present in the wild tortoises. Mycoplasma testudineum was not detected. The M. agassizii ELISA and qPCR results did not always agree. More tortoises were positive for M. agassizii by nasal mucosa testing than by nasal flush. Our findings suggest that mycoplasmas are not the only agents of concern and that a single M. agassizii ELISA or nasal flush qPCR alone failed to identify all potentially infected animals in a population. Caution should be exercised in using these tests for disposition decisions.

  12. Serological diagnosis of bovine neosporosis: a Bayesian evaluation of two antibody ELISA tests for in vivo diagnosis in purchased and abortion cattle.

    PubMed

    Roelandt, S; Van der Stede, Y; Czaplicki, G; Van Loo, H; Van Driessche, E; Dewulf, J; Hooyberghs, J; Faes, C

    2015-06-06

    Currently, there are no perfect reference tests for the in vivo detection of Neospora caninum infection. Two commercial N caninum ELISA tests are currently used in Belgium for bovine sera (TEST A and TEST B). The goal of this study is to evaluate these tests used at their current cut-offs, with a no gold standard approach, for the test purpose of (1) demonstration of freedom of infection at purchase and (2) diagnosis in aborting cattle. Sera of two study populations, Abortion population (n=196) and Purchase population (n=514), were selected and tested with both ELISA's. Test results were entered in a Bayesian model with informative priors on population prevalences only (Scenario 1). As sensitivity analysis, two more models were used: one with informative priors on test diagnostic accuracy (Scenario 2) and one with all priors uninformative (Scenario 3). The accuracy parameters were estimated from the first model: diagnostic sensitivity (Test A: 93.54 per cent-Test B: 86.99 per cent) and specificity (Test A: 90.22 per cent-Test B: 90.15 per cent) were high and comparable (Bayesian P values >0.05). Based on predictive values in the two study populations, both tests were fit for purpose, despite an expected false negative fraction of ±0.5 per cent in the Purchase population and ±5 per cent in the Abortion population. In addition, a false positive fraction of ±3 per cent in the overall Purchase population and ±4 per cent in the overall Abortion population was found. British Veterinary Association.

  13. Evaluation of three fully automated immunoassay systems for detection of IgA anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I antibodies.

    PubMed

    Pérez, D; Martínez-Flores, J A; Serrano, M; Lora, D; Paz-Artal, E; Morales, J M; Serrano, A

    2016-10-01

    In recent years, we have been witnessing increased clinical interest in the determination of IgA anti-beta 2-glycoprotein I (aB2GPI) antibodies as well as increased demand for this test. Some ELISA-based diagnostic systems for IgA aB2GPI antibodies detection are suboptimal to detect it. The aim of our study was to determine whether the diagnostic yield of modern detection systems based on automatic platforms to measure IgA aB2GPI is equivalent to that of the well-optimized ELISA-based assays. In total, 130 patients were analyzed for IgA aB2GPI by three fully automated immunoassays using an ELISA-based assay as reference. The three systems were also analyzed for IgG aB2GPI with 58 patients. System 1 was able to detect IgA aB2GPI with good sensitivity and kappa index (99% and 0.72, respectively). The other two systems had also poor sensitivity (20% and 15%) and kappa index (0.10 and 0.07), respectively. On the other hand, kappa index for IgG aB2GPI was >0.89 in the three systems. Some analytical methods to detect IgA aB2GPI are suboptimal as well as some ELISA-based diagnostic systems. It is important that the scientific community work to standardize analytical methods to determine IgA aB2GPI antibodies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Recombinant Nucleoprotein-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Immunoglobulin G Antibodies to Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus

    PubMed Central

    Saijo, Masayuki; Qing, Tang; Niikura, Masahiro; Maeda, Akihiko; Ikegami, Tetsuro; Prehaud, Christophe; Kurane, Ichiro; Morikawa, Shigeru

    2002-01-01

    The full-length nucleoprotein of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV; 482 amino acid residues) was expressed as a His-tagged recombinant protein (His-CCHFV rNP) in the baculovirus system. The His-CCHFV rNP was efficiently expressed in insect cells and purified by Ni2+ column chromatography. Using this substrate, an immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the IgG ELISA, using serum samples previously determined to be antibody positive or negative by immunofluorescence tests on CCHFV-infected Vero E6 cells. We found very good correlation between the two tests: 87% for the positive sera (13 of 15) and 99% for the negative sera (107 of 108). These results indicate that the new IgG ELISA using His-CCHFV rNP has high sensitivity and specificity for detecting CCHFV antibodies. The CCHF patients' sera with high titers reacted only with the NP fragment containing amino acid residues between 201 and 306 in Western blotting. It is known that amino acid homologies are high in this region among various isolates. Thus, it is expected that this ELISA can detect antibodies not only for Chinese strains of CCHFV but also for other strains circulating in the world. These results suggest that the IgG ELISA system developed with the recombinant CCHFV NP is a valuable tool for diagnosis and epidemiological investigations of CCHFV infections. PMID:11980926

  15. No serological evidence for Zika virus infection and low specificity for anti-Zika virus ELISA in malaria positive individuals among pregnant women from Madagascar in 2010.

    PubMed

    Schwarz, Norbert Georg; Mertens, Eva; Winter, Doris; Maiga-Ascofaré, Oumou; Dekker, Denise; Jansen, Stephanie; Tappe, Dennis; Randriamampionona, Njary; May, Jürgen; Rakotozandrindrainy, Raphael; Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    It was previously reported that a malaria infection may interfere with the specificity of a commercial ELISA test against Zika virus (ZIKV). We analyzed 1,216 plasma samples from healthy, pregnant women collected in two sites in Madagascar in 2010 for ZIKV antibodies using a commercial ELISA and for Plasmodium infection by PCR. This screen revealed six putative ZIKV-positive samples by ELISA. These results could not be confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence assays or virus neutralization tests. Four of these six samples were also positive for P. falciparum. We noted that the frequency of malaria positivity was higher in ZIKV-ELISA positive samples (50% and 100% in the two study sites) than ZIKV-negative samples (17% and 10%, respectively), suggesting that malaria may have led to false ZIKV-ELISA positives.

  16. Environmental Technology Verification Report for Abraxis Ecologenia® 17β-Estradiol (E2) Microplate Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test Kits

    EPA Science Inventory

    This verification test was conducted according to procedures specifiedin the Test/QA Planfor Verification of Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Test Kis for the Quantitative Determination of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) in Aqueous Phase Samples. Deviations to the...

  17. Standardization and validation of a cytometric bead assay to assess antibodies to multiple Plasmodium falciparum recombinant antigens

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Multiplex cytometric bead assay (CBA) have a number of advantages over ELISA for antibody testing, but little information is available on standardization and validation of antibody CBA to multiple Plasmodium falciparum antigens. The present study was set to determine optimal parameters for multiplex testing of antibodies to P. falciparum antigens, and to compare results of multiplex CBA to ELISA. Methods Antibodies to ten recombinant P. falciparum antigens were measured by CBA and ELISA in samples from 30 individuals from a malaria endemic area of Kenya and compared to known positive and negative control plasma samples. Optimal antigen amounts, monoplex vs multiplex testing, plasma dilution, optimal buffer, number of beads required were assessed for CBA testing, and results from CBA vs. ELISA testing were compared. Results Optimal amounts for CBA antibody testing differed according to antigen. Results for monoplex CBA testing correlated strongly with multiplex testing for all antigens (r = 0.88-0.99, P values from <0.0001 - 0.004), and antibodies to variants of the same antigen were accurately distinguished within a multiplex reaction. Plasma dilutions of 1:100 or 1:200 were optimal for all antigens for CBA testing. Plasma diluted in a buffer containing 0.05% sodium azide, 0.5% polyvinylalcohol, and 0.8% polyvinylpyrrolidone had the lowest background activity. CBA median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values with 1,000 antigen-conjugated beads/well did not differ significantly from MFI with 5,000 beads/well. CBA and ELISA results correlated well for all antigens except apical membrane antigen-1 (AMA-1). CBA testing produced a greater range of values in samples from malaria endemic areas and less background reactivity for blank samples than ELISA. Conclusion With optimization, CBA may be the preferred method of testing for antibodies to P. falciparum antigens, as CBA can test for antibodies to multiple recombinant antigens from a single plasma sample and produces a greater range of values in positive samples and lower background readings for blank samples than ELISA. PMID:23259607

  18. Evaluation of ELISA for detection of rabies antibodies in domestic carnivores.

    PubMed

    Wasniewski, Marine; Cliquet, Florence

    2012-01-01

    Serological tests of pets have increased as many rabies-free countries have amended their quarantine measures and adopted a scheme requiring rabies vaccination followed by a serological test. A European directive requires the measurement of neutralising antibodies as proof of protection to allow the free movement of pets within the European Union and between third countries non listed in the list C of regulation 998/2003 and European countries. At present, the recommended neutralisation tests (FAVN test or RFFIT) are time-consuming, expensive and require highly trained technicians as well as special laboratory facilities. The rabies ELISA designed by BioPro was developed initially for use for field samples from foxes to check the efficacy of oral vaccination campaigns in Europe. In this study, the specificity, sensitivity and reliability of this commercial rabies ELISA was evaluated for testing sera from dogs and cats involved in international trade. The specificity evaluated in 315 unvaccinated animals was 100%. Concordance of 86.2% was obtained when comparing BioPro ELISA to the gold standard FAVN test in 701 samples from vaccinated dogs and cats. The rabies ELISA developed recently can be considered a valuable method for the assessment of rabies antibodies in vaccinated domestic carnivores in combination with neutralisation tests. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Comparison of commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits with agar gel precipitation and hemagglutination-inhibition tests for detecting antibodies to avian influenza viruses.

    PubMed

    Shiraishi, Rikiya; Nishiguchi, Akiko; Tsukamoto, Kenji; Muramatsu, Masatake

    2012-09-01

    We evaluated the utility of 5 commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits for detecting antibodies to avian influenza viruses. The sensitivities and specificities of the ELISA kits were compared with those of the agar gel precipitation (AGP) and hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) tests. The results suggest that some ELISA kits might not be suitable for monitoring during the early stages of avian influenza virus infections. Therefore, ELISA kits should only be used in conjunction with a profound knowledge about monitoring of avian influenza.

  20. Comparison of R5 and G12 Antibody-Based ELISA Used for the Determination of the Gluten Content in Official Food Samples

    PubMed Central

    Hochegger, Rupert; Mayer, Walter; Prochaska, Manuela

    2015-01-01

    Celiac Disease (CD) is one of the most common food intolerances. It comes along with serious damage of the mucosa in the small intestine and is caused by the storage proteins—termed “gluten”—of wheat, rye, barley and possibly oats. Sensitive individuals need to stick to a strict gluten-free diet. The gluten level in food products labeled as “gluten-free”, must not exceed 20 mg/kg. It is obvious that effective test methods are needed to accurately determine the gluten concentration in foods. The determination of the presence of gluten in foodstuffs is mainly done by means of an immunochemical method called ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). To check the suitability of a G12 antibody-based gluten detection kit for its use in official control systems a number of routine samples were tested in parallel with two different test kits, as would be done in a routine lab. The determination of the gluten content was performed on samples entering the official laboratory including samples from official control plans, commercially available and private samples to request gluten-free labels. The results obtained with the G12 antibody ELISA assay were comparable to the official R5 method. A validation of the two different methods was not part of this study. PMID:28231228

  1. Characterization of inhibin forms and their measurement by an inhibin alpha-subunit ELISA in serum from postmenopausal women with ovarian cancer.

    PubMed

    Robertson, D M; Stephenson, T; Pruysers, E; McCloud, P; Tsigos, A; Groome, N; Mamers, P; Burger, H G

    2002-02-01

    The aim of this study was to characterize the molecular wt forms of inhibins A and B and its free alpha-subunit present in serum from women with ovarian cancer as a basis for developing improved monoclonal antibody-based inhibin assays for monitoring ovarian cancer. Three new inhibin alpha-subunit (alphaC) ELISAs were developed using monoclonal antibodies directed to three nonoverlapping peptide regions of the alphaC region of the inhibin alpha-subunit. To characterize serum inhibin molecular wt forms present in women with ovarian cancer, existing inhibin immunoassays (inhibin A, inhibin B, and pro-alphaC) and the new alphaC ELISAs were applied to sera from women with granulosa cell tumors and mucinous carcinomas previously fractionated using a combined immunoaffinity chromatography, preparative SDS-PAGE, and electroelution procedure. The distribution and molecular size of dimeric inhibins and alpha-subunit detected were consistent with known mol wt forms of inhibins A and B and inhibin alpha-subunit and their precursor forms present in serum and follicular fluid from healthy women. The alphaC ELISAs recognized all known forms of inhibin and the free inhibin alpha-subunit, although differences between alphaC ELISAs were observed in their ability to detect high mol wt forms. To assess which of the alphaC ELISAs was preferred in application to ovarian cancer, the alphaC ELISAs were applied to serum from a range of normal postmenopausal women (n = 61) and postmenopausal women (n = 152) with ovarian (serous, mucinous, endometrioid, clear cell carcinomas, and granulosa cell tumors) and nonovarian (breast and colon) cancers. Despite differences in their ability to detect high mol wt forms of inhibin, the alphaC ELISAs showed similar sensitivity (i.e. proportion of cancer patients correctly detected) and specificity (proportion of controls correctly detected) indexes in the detection of mucinous carcinomas (84% and 95%) and granulosa cell tumors (100% and 95%) compared with earlier inhibin RIA or polyclonal antibody-based immunofluorometric assays. A combination of the alphaC ELISAs with the CA125 assay, an ovarian tumor marker that has a high sensitivity and specificity for other ovarian cancers (serous, clear cell, and endometrioid), resulted in an increase in sensitivity/specificity indexes (95% and 95%) for the all ovarian cancer group. These new monoclonal antibody-based inhibin alphaC ELISAs now provide practical and sensitive assays suitable for evaluation as diagnostic tests for monitoring ovarian cancers.

  2. Proactive therapeutic drug monitoring of infliximab: a comparative study of a new point-of-care quantitative test with two established ELISA assays.

    PubMed

    Afonso, J; Lopes, S; Gonçalves, R; Caldeira, P; Lago, P; Tavares de Sousa, H; Ramos, J; Gonçalves, A R; Ministro, P; Rosa, I; Vieira, A I; Dias, C C; Magro, F

    2016-10-01

    Therapeutic drug monitoring is a powerful strategy known to improve the clinical outcomes and to optimise the healthcare resources in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Currently, most of the methods commercially available for the quantification of infliximab (IFX) are ELISA-based, with a turnaround time of approximately 8 h, and delaying the target dosage adjustment to the following infusion. To validate the first point-of-care IFX quantification device available in the market - the Quantum Blue Infliximab assay (Buhlmann, Schonenbuch, Switzerland) - by comparing it with two well-established methods. The three methods were used to assay the IFX concentration of spiked samples and of the serum of 299 inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients undergoing IFX therapy. The point-of-care assay had an average IFX recovery of 92%, being the most precise among the tested methods. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficients of the point-of-care IFX assay vs. the two ELISA-based established methods were 0.889 and 0.939. Moreover, the accuracy of the point-of-care IFX compared with each of the two reference methods was 77% and 83%, and the kappa statistics revealed a substantial agreement (0.648 and 0.738). The Quantum Blue IFX assay can successfully replace the commonly used ELISA-based IFX quantification kits. This point-of-care IFX assay is able to deliver the results within 15 min makes it ideal for an immediate target concentration adjusted dosing. Moreover, it is a user-friendly desktop device that does not require specific laboratory facilities or highly specialised personnel. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. Evaluation of Leishmania species reactivity in human serologic diagnosis of leishmaniasis.

    PubMed

    Silvestre, Ricardo; Santarém, Nuno; Teixeira, Lúcia; Cunha, Joana; Schallig, Henk; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela

    2009-08-01

    The sensitivities and specificities of IgG-ELISA and IgG flow cytometry based techniques using different Leishmania species were determined using sera collected from 40 cutaneous or visceral leishmaniasis patients. The flow cytometry technique, using promastigote parasite forms, performed better than total soluble extract IgG-ELISA. At the species level, the use of Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania major as antigens in enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) decreased the overall sensitivity. To assess the specificity of these tests, sera from malaria, toxoplasmosis, amoebiasis, schistosomiasis, and leprosy patients were used. We also included sera from Leishmania non-infected endemic individuals. The cutaneous species displayed a decreased specificity in both assays. Although more sensitive, flow cytometry using promastigote parasite forms generally presented lower levels of specificity when compared with total extract of IgG-ELISA. Overall, the results of the study show the potential of IgG flow cytometry for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. Although highly sensitive, a refinement of the flow cytometry method should be performed to improve the overall specificity.

  4. Comparison of Schmallenberg virus antibody levels detected in milk and serum from individual cows.

    PubMed

    Daly, Janet M; King, Barnabas; Tarlinton, Rachael A; Gough, Kevin C; Maddison, Ben C; Blowey, Roger

    2015-03-11

    Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a recently emerged virus of ruminants in Europe. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are commonly used to detect SBV-specific antibodies in bulk tank milk samples to monitor herd exposure to infection. However, it has previously been shown that a bulk tank milk sample can test positive even though the majority of cows within the herd are seronegative for SBV antibodies. Development of a pen-side test to detect antibodies in individual milk samples would potentially provide a cheaper test (for which samples are obtained non-invasively) than testing individual serum samples by ELISA. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the agreement between antibody levels measured in milk and serum. Corresponding milk and serum samples from 88 cows in two dairy herds in the UK were tested for presence of immunoglobulin G antibodies to SBV using a commercially-available indirect ELISA. A serum neutralisation test (NT) was also performed as a gold standard assay. The ELISA values obtained for the bulk tank milk samples corresponded with the mean values for individual milk samples from each herd (bulk tank milk values were 58% and 73% and mean individual milk values 50% and 63% for herds A and B, respectively). Of the 88 serum samples tested in the NT, 82 (93%) were positive. Although at higher antibody levels, the ELISA values tended to be higher for the individual milk samples than for the corresponding serum samples, the positive predictive value for milk samples was 98% and for serum samples 94%. The serum ELISA was more likely to give false positive results around the lower cut-off value of the assay. The results indicate that testing of individual milk samples for antibodies against SBV by ELISA could be used to inform decisions in the management of dairy herds such as which, if any, animals to vaccinate.

  5. A novel capture-ELISA for detection of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) based on c-myc peptide recognition in carboxy-terminally tagged recombinant neutrophil serine proteases.

    PubMed

    Lee, Augustine S; Finkielman, Javier D; Peikert, Tobias; Hummel, Amber M; Viss, Margaret A; Specks, Ulrich

    2005-12-20

    Testing for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) reacting with proteinase 3 (PR3) is part of the routine diagnostic evaluation of patients with small vessel vasculitis. For PR3-ANCA detection, capture ELISAs are reported to be superior to direct ELISAs. Standard capture ELISAs, in which PR3 is anchored by anti-PR3 monoclonal antibodies (moAB), have two potential disadvantages. First, the capturing moAB may compete for epitopes recognized by some PR3-ANCA, causing occasional false-negative results. Second, the capture of recombinant PR3 mutant molecules becomes unpredictable as modifications of specific conformational epitopes may not only affect the binding of PR3-ANCA, but also the affinity of the capturing anti-PR3 moAB. Here, we describe a new capture ELISA, and its application for PR3-ANCA detection. This new assay is based on the standardized capture of a variety of different carboxy-terminally c-myc tagged recombinant ANCA target antigens using anti-c-myc coated ELISA plates. Antigen used include c-myc tagged human rPR3 variants (mature and pro-form conformations), mouse mature rPR3 and human recombinant neutrophil elastase. This new anti-c-myc-capture ELISA for PR3-ANCA detection has an intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation of 3.6% to 7.7%, and 15.8% to 18.4%, respectively. The analytical sensitivity and specificity for PR3-ANCA positive serum samples were 93% and 100%, respectively when rPR3 with mature conformation was used as target antigen, and 83% and 100% when the pro-enzyme conformation was employed. In conclusion, this new anti-c-myc capture ELISA compares favorably to our standard capture ELISA for PR3-ANCA detection, enables the unified capture of different ANCA target antigens through binding to a c-myc tag, and allows capture of rPR3 mutants necessary for PR3-ANCA epitope mapping studies.

  6. Development and Comparative Evaluation of a Plate Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Based on Recombinant Outer Membrane Antigens Omp28 and Omp31 for Diagnosis of Human Brucellosis

    PubMed Central

    Tiwari, Sapana; Kumar, Ashu; Mangalgi, Smita; Rathod, Vedika; Prakash, Archana; Barua, Anita; Arora, Sonia; Sathyaseelan, Kannusamy

    2013-01-01

    Brucellosis is an important zoonotic infectious disease of humans and livestock with worldwide distribution and is caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. The diagnosis of brucellosis always requires laboratory confirmation by either isolation of pathogens or detection of specific antibodies. The conventional serological tests available for the diagnosis of brucellosis are less specific and show cross-reactivity with other closely related organisms. These tests also necessitate the handling of Brucella species for antigen preparation. Therefore, there is a need to develop reliable, rapid, and user-friendly systems for disease diagnosis and alternatives to vaccine approaches. Keeping in mind the importance of brucellosis as an emerging infection and the prevalence in India, we carried out the present study to compare the recombinant antigens with the native antigens (cell envelope and sonicated antigen) of Brucella for diagnosis of human brucellosis by an indirect plate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Recombinant outer membrane protein 28 (rOmp28) and rOmp31 antigens were cloned, expressed, and purified in the bacterial expression system, and the purified proteins were used as antigens. Indirect plate ELISAs were then performed and standardized for comparison of the reactivities of recombinant and native antigens against the 433 clinical samples submitted for brucellosis testing, 15 culture-positive samples, and 20 healthy donor samples. The samples were separated into four groups based on their positivity to rose bengal plate agglutination tests (RBPTs), standard tube agglutination tests (STATs), and 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) tests. The sensitivities and specificities of all the antigens were calculated, and the rOmp28 antigen was found to be more suitable for the clinical diagnosis of brucellosis than the rOmp31 antigen and native antigens. The rOmp28-based ELISA showed a very high degree of agreement with the conventional agglutination tests and promising results for further use in clinical screening and serodiagnosis of human brucellosis. PMID:23761658

  7. Serology of Typhoid Fever in an Area of Endemicity and Its Relevance to Diagnosis

    PubMed Central

    House, Deborah; Wain, John; Ho, Vo A.; Diep, To S.; Chinh, Nguyen T.; Bay, Phan V.; Vinh, Ha; Duc, Minh; Parry, Christopher M.; Dougan, Gordon; White, Nicholas J.; Hien, Tran Tinh; Farrar, Jeremy J.

    2001-01-01

    Currently, the laboratory diagnosis of typhoid fever is dependent upon either the isolation of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhi from a clinical sample or the detection of raised titers of agglutinating serum antibodies against the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (O) or flagellum (H) antigens of serotype Typhi (the Widal test). In this study, the serum antibody responses to the LPS and flagellum antigens of serotype Typhi were investigated with individuals from a region of Vietnam in which typhoid is endemic, and their usefulness for the diagnosis of typhoid fever was evaluated. The antibody responses to both antigens were highly variable among individuals infected with serotype Typhi, and elevated antibody titers were also detected in a high proportion of serum samples from healthy subjects from the community. In-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of specific classes of anti-LPS and antiflagellum antibodies were compared with other serologically based tests for the diagnosis of typhoid fever (Widal TO and TH, anti-serotype Typhi immunoglobulin M [IgM] dipstick, and IDeaL TUBEX). At a specificity of ≥0.93, the sensitivities of the different tests were 0.75, 0.55, and 0.52 for the anti-LPS IgM, IgG, and IgA ELISAs, respectively; 0.28 for the antiflagellum IgG ELISA; 0.47 and 0.32 for the Widal TO and TH tests, respectively; and 0.77 for the anti-serotype Typhi IgM dipstick assay. The specificity of the IDeaL TUBEX was below 0.90 (sensitivity, 0.87; specificity, 0.76). The serological assays based on the detection of IgM antibodies against either serotype Typhi LPS (ELISA) or whole bacteria (dipstick) had a significantly higher sensitivity than the Widal TO test when used with a single acute-phase serum sample (P ≤ 0.007). These tests could be of use for the diagnosis of typhoid fever in patients who have clinical typhoid fever but are culture negative or in regions where bacterial culturing facilities are not available. PMID:11230418

  8. Evaluation of a newly designed sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of hydatid antigen in serum, urine and cyst fluid for diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis.

    PubMed

    Chaya, Dr; Parija, Subhash Chandra

    2013-07-01

    Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease of humans with variable clinical manifestations. Imaging and immunological methods are currently the mainstay of diagnosis of this disease. Although the immunological tests for detection of anti-echinococcal antibodies have several disadvantages, they are widely being used. Antigen is far more superior than antibody detection test as they can provide a specific parasitic diagnosis. A sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was designed using antibodies to 24 kDa urinary hydatid antigen for the detection of hydatid antigens in urine, serum and cyst fluid specimens. The performance of this novel test was compared with that of other hydatid antibody detection ELISA and enzyme immune transfer blot (EITB) using radiological and surgical confirmation as the gold standard. The antigen detection ELISA showed 100% sensitivity and specificity when tested with cyst fluid. On testing urine and serum, the antigen detection ELISA was found to be more specific than antibody detection ELISA. EITB was found to be the most sensitive and specific test. ELISA using polyclonal antibodies against 24 kDa urinary hydatid protein was moderately sensitive to detect hydatid antigen in serum and urine. Hence polyclonal antibodies to 24 kDa urinary hydatid antigen can be used as an alternative source of antibody to detect hydatid antigen in serum, urine and cyst fluid. In the present study, EITB was found to be highly specific test for detection of hydatid antibodiesin serum. 24 kDa protein was found to be specific and of diagnostic value in CE.

  9. ELISA testing for common food antigens in four dry dog foods used in dietary elimination trials.

    PubMed

    Raditic, D M; Remillard, R L; Tater, K C

    2011-02-01

    This study evaluated four over the counter venison dry dog foods available from one on-line retail vendor for potential contamination with common known food allergens: soy, poultry or beef. An amplified, double sandwich type enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test of soy, poultry and beef proteins were performed by an independent accredited food laboratory. The ELISA test for poultry protein was found to be unreliable when testing in dry dog foods because false negatives occurred. ELISA testing of control diets for both soy and beef proteins performed as expected and could be useful in antigen testing in dry dog foods. Three of the four over the counter (OTC) venison canine dry foods with no soy products named in the ingredient list were ELISA positive for soy; additionally one OTC diet tested positive for beef protein with no beef products listed as an ingredient list. One OTC venison diet was not found to be positive for soy, poultry or beef proteins. However, none of the four OTC venison diets could be considered suitable for a diagnostic elimination trial as they all contained common pet food proteins, some of which were readily identifiable on the label and some that were only detected by ELISA. Therefore, if the four OTC venison products selected in this study are representative of OTC products in general, then the use of OTC venison dry dog foods should not be used during elimination trials in suspected food allergy patients. © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  10. Seroprevalence of Toscana virus infection in Tunisia.

    PubMed

    Fezaa, Ons; Bahri, Olfa; Alaya Bouafif, Nissaf Ben; Triki, Henda; Bouattour, Ali

    2013-12-01

    The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of IgG antibodies against Toscana virus (TOSV) by an ELISA test and to determine the extent of its circulation in Tunisia. An indirect ELISA test was performed to detect anti-TOSV IgG. The results were compared to those of an indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test. The survey tested 494 healthy people from various regions of Tunisia by ELISA for anti-TOSV IgG; 47 people (9.5%) were found to be positive. Seroprevalence varied by bioclimatic region and gender. Two hundred and twelve samples, randomly chosen from the same selected population and tested with ELISA, were retested using an IFA for IgG antibodies. An 85% concordance between the IFA and ELISA was obtained (kappa=0.650). These serological data confirm the circulation of TOSV in different bioclimatic zones in Tunisia where the vector sand flies are found. The detection of IgG against TOSV suggests that the diagnosis of TOSV infection is often neglected, as this virus often causes asymptomatic infections, with only a few patients developing severe illnesses involving neurological manifestations. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Evaluation of the sensitivity of IgG and IgM ELISA in detecting Schistosoma mansoni infections in a low endemicity setting.

    PubMed

    Espirito-Santo, M C C; Sanchez, M C A; Sanchez, A R; Alvarado-Mora, M V; Castilho, V L P; Gonçalves, E M N; Luna, E J A; Gryschek, R C B

    2014-12-01

    Schistosomiasis is a major public health concern, with 200 million people infected worldwide. In Brazil, this disease has been reported in 19 states, and its prevalence in the city of Barra Mansa in Rio de Janeiro State is 1 %. The parasitological diagnostic methods currently available in these areas lack sensitivity; however, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) have been employed successfully for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis by using antibodies against antigens of Schistosoma mansoni adult worms and eggs, and for the detection of circulating antigens. The objective of this study was to determine systematically the prevalence of S. mansoni infection in the peripheral areas of Barra Mansa. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to December 2011 by using probabilistic sampling that collected 610 fecal samples and 612 serum samples. ELISA-IgG with total extracts and ELISA-IgM with trichloroacetic acid-soluble fractions were employed to detect antibodies against S. mansoni and were compared with the Kato-Katz and Hoffman parasitological techniques. Among the individuals studied, anti-S. mansoni antibodies were detected in 11.16 % (n = 71) by ELISA-IgG and in 20.75 % (n = 132) by ELISA-IgM, while the parasitological techniques showed 0.82 % (n = 5) positivity. The agreement between the two ELISA tests was 85.38 % (n = 543), and 8.65 % (n = 55) of the serum samples showed positive results in both tests. The higher positivity of the ELISA-IgM test corroborates the results of previous reports and indicates that the test may be a useful tool in epidemiological studies, particularly in areas of low endemicity for S. mansoni.

  12. Evaluation of an inhouse rapid ELISA test for detection of giardia in domestic sheep (Ovis aries).

    PubMed

    Wilson, Jolaine M; Hankenson, F Claire

    2010-11-01

    Sheep (Ovis aries) are increasingly used at our institution as models of human disease. Within the research environment, routine husbandry and handling of sheep has potential for transmission of zoonotic agents, including Giardia. The prevalence of Giardia in sheep may approach 68%. Classic diagnostic testing involves microscopic examination for fecal cysts or trophozoites; however, limitations of microscopy include time, labor, and potential false-negative results due to intermittent shedding. We wished to determine whether a commercial rapid ELISA used for Giardia detection in dogs and cats could be used in sheep. Fecal samples collected from sheep (n = 93) were tested with a combination of 6 methods: reference laboratory fecal flotation, reference laboratory ELISA, inhouse fecal flotation, and commercially available tests (enzyme immunoassay, direct fluorescence antibody assay, and rapid ELISA). Prevalence of Giardia infection in facility sheep was 11.8% (11 of 93 animals). Of the 11 samples considered positive, 3 were confirmed by multiple testing methods, and 5 were positive by microscopy alone. Inhouse fecal flotation for 8 samples was positive on only 1 of 2 consecutive testing days. The rapid ELISA test exhibited 0% sensitivity for sheep giardiasis. Overall, the examined methods had low sensitivities and low positive predictive values. Despite limitations, microscopic analysis of repeat fecal samples remained the most accurate diagnostic method for ovine giardiasis among the methods tested.

  13. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for detection of equine antibodies specific to Sarcocystis neurona surface antigens.

    PubMed

    Hoane, Jessica S; Morrow, Jennifer K; Saville, William J; Dubey, J P; Granstrom, David E; Howe, Daniel K

    2005-09-01

    Sarcocystis neurona is the primary causative agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a common neurologic disease of horses in the Americas. We have developed a set of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on the four major surface antigens of S. neurona (SnSAGs) to analyze the equine antibody response to S. neurona. The SnSAG ELISAs were optimized and standardized with a sample set of 36 equine sera that had been characterized by Western blotting against total S. neurona parasite antigen, the current gold standard for S. neurona serology. The recombinant SnSAG2 (rSnSAG2) ELISA showed the highest sensitivity and specificity at 95.5% and 92.9%, respectively. In contrast, only 68.2% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity were achieved with the rSnSAG1 ELISA, indicating that this antigen may not be a reliable serological marker for analyzing antibodies against S. neurona in horses. Importantly, the ELISA antigens did not show cross-reactivity with antisera to Sarcocystis fayeri or Neospora hughesi, two other equine parasites. The accuracy and reliability exhibited by the SnSAG ELISAs suggest that these assays will be valuable tools for examining the equine immune response against S. neurona infection, which may help in understanding the pathobiology of this accidental parasite-host interaction. Moreover, with modification and further investigation, the SnSAG ELISAs have potential for use as immunodiagnostic tests to aid in the identification of horses affected by EPM.

  14. Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Detection of Equine Antibodies Specific to Sarcocystis neurona Surface Antigens†

    PubMed Central

    Hoane, Jessica S.; Morrow, Jennifer K.; Saville, William J.; Dubey, J. P.; Granstrom, David E.; Howe, Daniel K.

    2005-01-01

    Sarcocystis neurona is the primary causative agent of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), a common neurologic disease of horses in the Americas. We have developed a set of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on the four major surface antigens of S. neurona (SnSAGs) to analyze the equine antibody response to S. neurona. The SnSAG ELISAs were optimized and standardized with a sample set of 36 equine sera that had been characterized by Western blotting against total S. neurona parasite antigen, the current gold standard for S. neurona serology. The recombinant SnSAG2 (rSnSAG2) ELISA showed the highest sensitivity and specificity at 95.5% and 92.9%, respectively. In contrast, only 68.2% sensitivity and 71.4% specificity were achieved with the rSnSAG1 ELISA, indicating that this antigen may not be a reliable serological marker for analyzing antibodies against S. neurona in horses. Importantly, the ELISA antigens did not show cross-reactivity with antisera to Sarcocystis fayeri or Neospora hughesi, two other equine parasites. The accuracy and reliability exhibited by the SnSAG ELISAs suggest that these assays will be valuable tools for examining the equine immune response against S. neurona infection, which may help in understanding the pathobiology of this accidental parasite-host interaction. Moreover, with modification and further investigation, the SnSAG ELISAs have potential for use as immunodiagnostic tests to aid in the identification of horses affected by EPM. PMID:16148170

  15. Visual Detection of Canine Parvovirus Based on Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Combined with Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and with Lateral Flow Dipstick

    PubMed Central

    SUN, Yu-Ling; YEN, Chon-Ho; TU, Ching-Fu

    2013-01-01

    ABSTRACT Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (LAMP–ELISA) and with lateral flow dipstick (LAMP–LFD) are rapid, sensitive and specific methods for the visual detection of clinical pathogens. In this study, LAMP–ELISA and LAMP–LFD were developed for the visual detection of canine parvovirus (CPV). For LAMP, a set of four primers (biotin-labeled forward inner primers) was designed to specifically amplify a region of the VP2 gene of CPV. The optimum time and temperature for LAMP were 60 min and 65°C, respectively. The specific capture oligonucleotide probes, biotin-labeled CPV probe for LAMP–ELISA and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled CPV probe for LAMP–LFD were also designed for hybridization with LAMP amplicons on streptavidin-coated wells and LFD strips, respectively. For the comparison of detection sensitivity, conventional PCR and LAMP for CPV detection were also performed. The CPV detection limits by PCR, PCR–ELISA, LAMP, LAMP–ELISA and LAMP–LFD were 102, 102, 10−1, 10−1 and 10−1 TCID50/ml, respectively. In tests using artificially contaminated dog fecal samples, the samples with CPV inoculation levels of ≥1 TCID50/ml gave positive results by both LAMP–ELISA and LAMP–LFD. Our data indicated that both LAMP–ELISA and LAMP–LFD are promising as rapid, sensitive and specific methods for an efficient diagnosis of CPV infection. PMID:24334855

  16. Diagnostic performance of serological tests to detect antibodies against acute scrub typhus infection in central India.

    PubMed

    Pote, Kiran; Narang, Rahul; Deshmukh, Pradeep

    2018-01-01

    Differentiating scrub typhus from other acute febrile illness is difficult due to non specificity of clinical symptoms and relative absence of eschar in Indian population. The diagnosis thus relies mainly on laboratory tests. Antibody based serological tests are mainstay of scrub typhus diagnosis. Here, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of IgM ELISA, IgM IFA and ICT to detect antibodies against O. tsutsugamushi in acute serum of febrile patients. The serum samples from 600 randomly selected patients suffering from acute undifferentiated fever were tested by all the three tests mentioned above. We used latent class analysis to generate unbiased results as all the tests for scrub typhus diagnosis are imperfect and none of them can be considered as reference standard. We found that IgM ELISA with cutoff titer 0.5 OD has high diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 99.9% and specificity 99.15) than IgM IFA (sensitivity 96.8% and specificity 99.7%) for scrub typhus diagnosis. ICT used in our study had very high specificity 100% but low sensitivity (38%) which would limit its use for acute serum samples. ICT being a screening or point of care test, has to be more sensitive while some compromise with specificity is affordable. Hence, optimal cutoff for ICT should be evaluated under different settings. IgM ELISA being simple and affordable could be an alternative diagnostic test to IgM IFA which is subjective and costly.

  17. T-2 Toxin/HT-2 Toxin and Ochratoxin A ELISAs Development and In-House Validation in Food in Accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 519/2014

    PubMed Central

    Oplatowska-Stachowiak, Michalina; Sajic, Nermin; Haasnoot, Willem; Campbell, Katrina; Elliott, Christopher T.; Salden, Martin

    2017-01-01

    T-2 toxin/HT-2 toxin (T-2/HT-2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are mycotoxins that can contaminate a variety of agricultural commodities. To protect consumers’ health, indicative limits for T-2/HT-2 and maximum limits for OTA have been set by the European Commission, requiring food business operators and controlling agencies to conduct routine checks for the presence of these harmful contaminants. Screening methods are increasingly used for monitoring purposes. Due to the demand for new and improved screening tools, two individual detection methods, T-2/HT-2 and OTA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), were developed in this study. The T-2/HT-2 ELISA was based on a T-2 monoclonal antibody with an IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) of 0.28 ng/mL and 125% cross-reactivity with HT-2. As regards the OTA ELISA, a new sensitive monoclonal antibody specific to OTA with an IC50 of 0.13 ng/mL was produced. Both developed ELISA tests were then validated in agricultural commodities in accordance with the new performance criteria guidelines for the validation of screening methods for mycotoxins included in Commission Regulation (EU) No 519/2014. The T-2/HT-2 ELISA was demonstrated to be suitable for the detection of T-2/HT-2 in cereals and baby food at and above the screening target concentration (STC) of 12.5 μg/kg and 7.5 μg/kg, respectively. The OTA ELISA was shown to be applicable for the detection of OTA in cereals, coffee, cocoa and wine at and above the STC of 2 μg/kg, 2.5 μg/kg, 2.5 μg/kg and 0.4 ng/mL, respectively. The accuracy of both ELISAs was further confirmed by analysing proficiency test and reference samples. The developed methods can be used for sensitive and high-throughput screening for the presence of T-2/HT-2 and OTA in agricultural commodities. PMID:29189752

  18. T-2 Toxin/HT-2 Toxin and Ochratoxin A ELISAs Development and In-House Validation in Food in Accordance with the Commission Regulation (EU) No 519/2014.

    PubMed

    Oplatowska-Stachowiak, Michalina; Kleintjens, Tim; Sajic, Nermin; Haasnoot, Willem; Campbell, Katrina; Elliott, Christopher T; Salden, Martin

    2017-11-30

    T-2 toxin/HT-2 toxin (T-2/HT-2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) are mycotoxins that can contaminate a variety of agricultural commodities. To protect consumers' health, indicative limits for T-2/HT-2 and maximum limits for OTA have been set by the European Commission, requiring food business operators and controlling agencies to conduct routine checks for the presence of these harmful contaminants. Screening methods are increasingly used for monitoring purposes. Due to the demand for new and improved screening tools, two individual detection methods, T-2/HT-2 and OTA enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), were developed in this study. The T-2/HT-2 ELISA was based on a T-2 monoclonal antibody with an IC 50 (50% inhibitory concentration) of 0.28 ng/mL and 125% cross-reactivity with HT-2. As regards the OTA ELISA, a new sensitive monoclonal antibody specific to OTA with an IC 50 of 0.13 ng/mL was produced. Both developed ELISA tests were then validated in agricultural commodities in accordance with the new performance criteria guidelines for the validation of screening methods for mycotoxins included in Commission Regulation (EU) No 519/2014. The T-2/HT-2 ELISA was demonstrated to be suitable for the detection of T-2/HT-2 in cereals and baby food at and above the screening target concentration (STC) of 12.5 μg/kg and 7.5 μg/kg, respectively. The OTA ELISA was shown to be applicable for the detection of OTA in cereals, coffee, cocoa and wine at and above the STC of 2 μg/kg, 2.5 μg/kg, 2.5 μg/kg and 0.4 ng/mL, respectively. The accuracy of both ELISAs was further confirmed by analysing proficiency test and reference samples. The developed methods can be used for sensitive and high-throughput screening for the presence of T-2/HT-2 and OTA in agricultural commodities.

  19. Biomimetic ELISA detection of malachite green based on molecularly imprinted polymer film.

    PubMed

    Li, Lu; Peng, Ai-Hong; Lin, Zheng-Zhong; Zhong, Hui-Ping; Chen, Xiao-Mei; Huang, Zhi-Yong

    2017-08-15

    A highly selective and sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of malachite green (MG) using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film as bionic antibody. The MIP film, based on the self-polymerization of dopamine, was fabricated on the surfaces of a 96-well microplate. It showed specific recognition for MG in aqueous solution. A direct competitive ELISA method was established with the sensitivity reaching 10.31μgL -1 and the detection limit being 0.3μgL -1 . The cross-reactivity of two structural analogues to MG was less than 10%. The average recovery tested by MG standard spiking was 88.8% for bass and 90.4% for water, and the relative standard deviations were less than 3.6%. All the above results indicated that the developed method could be used to detect MG in fish and water samples rapidly, specifically and accurately. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Detection of Helicobacter pylori by Real-Time PCR for 16s rRNA in Stools of NonInfected Healthy Children, Using ELISA Antigen Stool Test as the Gold Standard.

    PubMed

    George, Sergio; Mamani, Nora; Lucero, Yalda; Torres, Juan Pablo; Farfán, Mauricio; Lagomarcino, Anne J; Orellana, Andrea; O'Ryan, Miguel

    2016-12-01

    We previously detected Helicobacter pylori infection by stool antigen ELISA assay in 33-41% of asymptomatic Chilean children between 2-3 years of age, of which 11-20% had a transient infection and 21-22% a persistent infection. A total of 88% of ELISA-positive samples were also rtPCR positive, while 37/133 (33%) of ELISA-negative stool samples were rtPCR positive. The significance of a ELISA-negative/rtPCR-positive sample requires clarification. We aimed to determine whether rtPCR is able to detect persistent infections not detected by ELISA. We selected 36 children with an ELISA-negative/rtPCR-positive stool sample, of which 25 were never H. pylori infected according to ELISA, and 11 had a transient infection with an ELISA-positive sample before or after the discordant sample. At least two additional consecutive ELISA-negative samples per child were tested in duplicate by rtPCR for the 16s rRNA gene. A total of 14 of 78 (17.9%) rtPCR reactions were positive, but only 4/78 (5.1%) were positive in both duplicates, representing a total of 3/36 (8.3%) children with an additional rtPCR-positive sample, only one of whom was persistently negative by ELISA. One child with a transient infection had two positive rtPCR reactions despite negative ELISA samples. In H. pylori noninfected or transiently infected children, as determined by stool ELISA, additional ELISA-negative/rtPCR-positive stool samples were found in 8.3% of children, but a possible persistent infection was only identified in 2.7% of children. Thus, the characterization of infection dynamics in children is not being misrepresented by application of stool ELISA. Furthermore, rtPCR does not significantly improve dynamic characterization. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Comparative assessment of two commonly used commercial ELISA tests for the serological diagnosis of contagious agalactia of small ruminants caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Contagious agalactia (CA) of sheep and goats caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae is a widely occurring economically important disease that is difficult to control. The ELISA is commonly used for the serological detection of CA but it has some limitations and the performance of the available tests have not been properly evaluated. Two commercial ELISA kits are widely used, one involving a fusion protein as target antigen and the other a total antigen. The objectives were to compare these tests by evaluating: i. Their diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, the relevance of the recommended cut-off points, the correlation between the two tests, and, the correlation between serology data and the milk shedding of M. agalatiae; ii. The influence of extrinsic factors such as the targeted animal species, geographical origin of the samples, intra-specific variability of M. agalactiae and concurrent mycoplasma infections. A sample of 5900 animals from 211 farms with continuous CA monitoring for 20 years and no prior vaccination history was used. The infection status was known from prior bacteriological, epidemiological and serological monitoring with a complementary immunoblotting test. Results The average diagnostic sensitivity was 56% [51.8–59.8] for the fusion protein ELISA and 84% [81.3–87.2] for the total antigen ELISA, with noteworthy flock-related variations. The average diagnostic specificity for the fusion protein ELISA was 100% [99.9–100], and for the total antigen ELISA differed significantly between goats and sheep: 99.3% [97.4–99.9] and 95.7% [93.8–97.2] respectively. Experimental inoculations with different M. agalactiae strains revealed that the ELISA kits poorly detected the antibody response to certain strains. Furthermore, test performances varied according to the host species or geographical origin of the samples. Finally, the correlation between milk shedding of M. agalactiae and the presence of detectable antibodies in the blood was poor. Conclusions These serological tests are not interchangeable. The choice of a test will depend on the objectives (early detection of infection or disease control program), on the prevalence of infection and the control protocol used. Given the variety of factors that may influence performance, a preliminary assessment of the test in a given situation is recommended prior to widespread use. PMID:22776779

  2. Removal of Lipid from Serum Increases Coherence between Brucellosis Rapid Agglutination Test and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay in Bears in Alaska, USA.

    PubMed

    Godfroid, Jacques; Beckmen, Kimberlee; Helena Nymo, Ingebjørg

    2016-10-01

    In cases of chronic Brucella spp. infection, results of the rose bengal plate test (RBPT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) should be coherent, as reported in controlled conditions in the literature. We compared RBPT and ELISA results in 58 Alaska grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos horribilis), eight Kodiak brown bears ( Ursus arctos middendorffi), and six Alaska Peninsula brown bears ( Ursus arctos gyas). Of the 72 bears tested, 42 (58%) were ELISA positive and 53 (73%) were RBPT positive. However, the coherence between the tests was only fair (K=0.37, SE=0.11), suggesting that either the serologic results were not compatible with Brucella spp. infection or that there was a technical problem with the tests. To address a potential technical problem, we performed a 30-min chloroform/centrifugation cleanup. Following cleanup, the ELISA identified 43 positives (59%) and the RBPT identified 47 (65%), and the coherence between the tests was much improved (K=0.80, SE=0.07). We recommend cleaning wildlife sera with a high lipid content before performing RBPT and performing RBPT and ELISA in parallel to assess coherence. Our results suggest that Alaskan brown bears have been exposed to Brucella spp.

  3. [The importance of allergic skin test with Johnin, antibody ELISA, cultural fecal test as well as vaccination for the sanitation of three chronically paratuberculosis-infected dairy herds in Rhineland-Palatinate].

    PubMed

    Klawonn, W; Cussler, K; Dräger, K G; Gyra, H; Köhler, H; Zimmer, K; Hess, R G

    2002-12-01

    Three chronically paratuberculosis infected herds were tested for six years twice a year (intradermal Johnin test, antibody ELISA (IDEXX Corp.), microbial culture) according to a sanitary program. Culling of shedding animals and vaccination of calves with NEOPARASEC (Merial Corp.) were part of the program. In course of experiment, 1015 samples of 228 non vaccinated cows and 1502 samples of 293 vaccinated cattle have been tested. 3.8% of the vaccinated animals proved positive in microbial culture. Nearly all vaccinated calves developed granulomas sized from hazelnut to loaf at the injection site. Positive reactions in intradermal test as well as in antibody ELISA were found in very young calves. 24.3%, 33.7%, 25.9%, respectively of the non vaccinated animals were identified as shedders of M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) by microbial culture. In the first and in the second herd most shedders of MAP were found in the first herd examination (66.7%, 42.9%, respectively), whereas in the third herd they were detected in the fifth examination (31.0%). At the beginning, 17.9% of non vaccinated animals proved positive in intradermal test, 14.4% in antibody ELISA. Afterwards, the number of positive test results decreased but increased again towards the end of the experiment. 48.5% of the 66 shedders showed positive reactions in intradermal test, 57.6% in antibody ELISA, 77.3% in at least one of these both tests. Antibodies in ELISA were found in rising frequency from two years before the time of shedding. 50.0% of the shedders reacted positive in ELISA at the time of shedding. In selected shedders first positive results were found at the age of about two years. Unfortunately, only incomplete hygienic measures were realized by the farmers. Under field conditions the realisation of attending sanitary programs is difficult. MAP is spread mainly by buying of animals, therefore a certification program for paratuberculosis free herds is urgently necessary as well as an improvement of diagnostic methods.

  4. Multiplex method for initial complex testing of antibodies to blood transmitted diseases agents.

    PubMed

    Poltavchenko, Alexander G; Nechitaylo, Oleg V; Filatov, Pavel V; Ersh, Anna V; Gureyev, Vadim N

    2016-10-01

    Initial screening of donors and population at high risk of infection with blood transmitted diseases involves a number of analyses using monospesific diagnostic systems, and therefore is expensive labor- and time-consuming process. The goal of this work is to construct a multiplex test enabling to carry out rapid initial complex testing at a low price. The paper describes a kit making it possible to detect simultaneously antibodies to six agents of the most significant blood transmitted diseases: HIV virus, hepatitis B and C viruses, cytomegalovirus, T. pallidum and T. gondii in blood products. The kit comprises multiplex dot-immunoassay based on plane protein arrays (immune chips) using colloidal gold conjugates and silver development. It provides an opportunity to carry out complex analysis within 70min at room temperature, and there is no need of well-qualified personnel. We compared laboratory findings of the kit with monospecific kits for ELISA produced by two Russian commercial companies. Dot-assay results correlate well with data obtained using commercial kits for ELISA. Furthermore, multiplex analysis is quicker and cheaper in comparison with ELISA and can be carried out in non-laboratory conditions. The kit for multiplex dot-immunoassay of antibodies to blood transmitted agents can significantly simplify initial complex testing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Swine cysticercosis in the Karangasem district of Bali, Indonesia: An evaluation of serological screening methods.

    PubMed

    Swastika, Kadek; Dharmawan, Nyoman Sadra; Suardita, I Ketut; Kepeng, I Nengah; Wandra, Toni; Sako, Yasuhito; Okamoto, Munehiro; Yanagida, Tetsuya; Sasaki, Mizuki; Giraudoux, Patrick; Nakao, Minoru; Yoshida, Takahiko; Eka Diarthini, Luh Putu; Sudarmaja, I Made; Purba, Ivan Elisabeth; Budke, Christine M; Ito, Akira

    2016-11-01

    A serological assessment was undertaken on pigs from the Kubu and Abang sub-districts of Karangasem on the island of Bali, Indonesia, where earlier studies had detected patients with cysticercosis. Antigens purified from Taenia solium cyst fluid by cation-exchange chromatography were used to evaluate antibody responses in the pigs and the serological tests were also evaluated using sera from pigs experimentally infected with T. solium eggs. A total of 392 serum samples from naturally exposed pigs were tested using an ELISA that could be read based on both a colour change perceptible by the naked eye and an ELISA based on absorbance values. Twenty six (6.6%) pigs were found seropositive by the naked-eye ELISA and were categorized into three groups: strongly positive (absorbance values >0.8, n=6), moderately positive (absorbance values between 0.2 and 0.8, n=7), and weakly positive (absorbance values <0.2, n=13). Necropsies performed on 11 strongly and moderately positive pigs revealed that six strongly positive pigs were infected either solely with T. solium cysticerci (n=3), or co-infected with both T. solium and Taenia hydatigena (n=3). Four moderately positive pigs were infected solely with T. hydatigena. No cysticerci were found in one pig that was moderately positive by the naked-eye ELISA. Two experimentally infected pigs became antibody positive by 6 weeks post-infection, whereas eight control pigs remained negative. An additional 60 pigs slaughtered at authorized abattoirs on Bali were tested using the same ELISA. All 60 pigs were seronegative with no evidence of Taenia infection at necropsy. The results confirm the presence of porcine cysticercosis on Bali and, while the serological responses seen in T. solium infected animals were much stronger than those infected with T. hydatigena, the diagnostic antigens are clearly not species specific. Further studies are necessary to confirm if it is possible to draw a cut off line for differentiation of pig infected with T. solium from those infected with T. hydatigena. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Diagnostic use of recombinant Tha p 2 in the allergy to Thaumetopoea pityocampa.

    PubMed

    Rodríguez-Mahillo, A I; Carballeda-Sangiao, N; Vega, J M; García-Ortiz, J C; Roques, A; Moneo, I; González-Muñoz, M

    2015-10-01

    Thaumetopoea pityocampa causes allergies and skin and ocular lesions. No commercial tools are currently available for the clinical diagnosis of this allergy. We aimed to develop an in vitro method for the diagnosis of this allergy to avoid patients undergoing in vivo tests with insect extracts. Recombinant Tha p 2 was produced and used in an ELISA validated with 15 allergic patients. Subsequently, 42 subjects recruited from a random sampling cross-sectional study were analysed. The ELISA sensitivity and specificity were 93.3% and 100%, respectively, for the allergic patients and 71.4% and 95.3%, respectively, for the epidemiological study. The positive ELISA results correlated with the skin prick test areas with the whole body and the setae extracts. Professional exposure and short latency of symptoms onset were risk factors for a positive result in the ELISA. In conclusion, our ELISA is very useful for T. pityocampa allergy diagnosis and for epidemiologic testing. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Predictive value of Borrelia burgdorferi IgG antibody levels in patients referred to a tertiary Lyme centre.

    PubMed

    Zwerink, M; Zomer, T P; van Kooten, B; Blaauw, G; van Bemmel, T; van Hees, B C; Vermeeren, Y M; Landman, G W

    2018-03-01

    A two-step testing strategy is recommended in serological testing for Lyme borreliosis; positive and indeterminate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results are confirmed with immunoblots. Several ELISAs quantify the concentration of antibodies tested, however, no recommendation exists for an upper cut-off value at which an IgG ELISA is sufficient and the immunoblot can be omitted. The study objective was to determine at which IgG antibody level an immunoblot does not have any additional predictive value compared to ELISA results. Data of adult patients who visited a tertiary Lyme centre between 2008 and 2014 were analysed. Both an ELISA (Enzygnost Lyme link VlsE IgG) and immunoblot (recomLine blot Borrelia) were performed. Clinical data were extracted from the patient's digital medical record. Positive predictive values (PPVs) for either previous or active infection with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. were calculated for different cut-off ELISA IgG antibody levels where the immunoblot was regarded as reference test. In total, 1454 patients were included. According to the two-step test strategy, 486 (33%), 69 (5%) and 899 (62%) patients had positive, indeterminate and negative Borrelia IgG serology, respectively. At IgG levels of 500 IU/ml and higher, all immunoblots were positive, resulting in a 100% PPV (95% CI: 97.0-100). At IgG levels of 200 IU/ml and higher, the PPV was 99.3% (95% CI: 97.4-99.8). In conclusion, at IgG levels of 200 IU/ml and higher, an ELISA was sufficient to detect antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. At those IgG levels, a confirmatory immunoblot may be omitted in patients referred to a tertiary Lyme centre. Before these results can be implemented in routine diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis, confirmation of the results is necessary in other patient populations and using other quantitative ELISAs and immunoblots. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  8. A lactate dehydrogenase ELISA-based assay for the in vitro determination of Plasmodium berghei sensitivity to anti-malarial drugs.

    PubMed

    Orjuela-Sánchez, Pamela; Duggan, Erika; Nolan, John; Frangos, John A; Carvalho, Leonardo Jm

    2012-11-05

    Plasmodium berghei rodent malaria is a well-known model for the investigation of anti-malarial drug efficacy in vivo. However, the availability of drug in vitro assays in P. berghei is reduced when compared with the spectrum of techniques existing for Plasmodium falciparum. New alternatives to the current manual or automated methods described for P. berghei are attractive. The present study reports a new ELISA drug in vitro assay for P. berghei using two monoclonal antibodies against the parasite lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH). This procedure includes a short-in vitro culture, the purification of schizonts and the further generation of synchronized mice infections. Early stages of the parasite are then incubated against different concentrations of anti-malarial drugs using micro-plates. The novelty of this procedure in P. berghei relies on the quantification of the drug activity derived from the amount of pLDH estimated by an ELISA assay using two monoclonal antibodies: 14C1 and 19G7. The IC₅₀s obtained through the ELISA assay were compared with those from the micro-test. The initial parameters of the synchronized samples used in the in vitro assays were a parasitaemia of 0.5% and haematocrit of 1%, with an incubation period of 22 hours at 36.5°C. pLDH detection using a 14C1 coating at 10 μg/ml and 19G7 at 2.5 × 10⁻³ μg/ml provided good readouts of optical densities with low background in negative controls and specific detection levels for all parasite stages. IC₅₀s values derived from the ELISA assay for artesunate, chloroquine, amodiaquine and quinine were: 15, 7, 2, and 144 nM, respectively. When artesunate and chloroquine IC₅₀s were evaluated using the micro-test similar values were obtained. This ELISA-based in vitro drug assay is easy to implement, fast, and avoids the use radioisotopes or expensive equipment. The utility of this simple assay for screening anti-malarial drug activity against P. berghei in vitro is demonstrated.

  9. An ELISA for the early diagnosis of acute canine babesiosis detecting circulating antigen of large Babesia spp.

    PubMed

    Eichenberger, Ramon M; Štefanić, Saša; Naucke, Torsten J; Šarkūnas, Mindaugas; Zamokas, Gintaras; Grimm, Felix; Deplazes, Peter

    2017-08-30

    Babesia canis is the predominant Babesia species in dogs in Europe and is responsible for a severe and fatal disease. An increase in global pet tourism and a widening of the geographic distribution of the tick vector has led to the emergence of infections in areas where previously only imported cases have been reported. Due to the potential for rapid and serious disease progression, direct parasite detection by stained blood smears and light microscopy or DNA-based methods have traditionally been used for the diagnosis of acute infections. This study describes the production of a murine monoclonal antibody ('mAb BcFIII 7/1/2') that reacts to a 65kDa corpuscular epitope present in B. canis-infected erythrocytes and can be used in an ELISA to detect circulating Babesia antigen during acute infections. The sensitivity of the ELISA was 100% (95%CI: 84.5-100) as determined using blood lysate samples from 27 dogs with acute B. canis infections. Sensitivity was reduced to 53.8% in 13 patent Babesia vogeli infections (95%CI: 26.1-79.6) based on the current test design using convalescent serum from a B. canis-infected dog. The specificity was determined to be 86.4% (95%CI: 64-96.4) using 22 samples from healthy canine blood donors. In the course of acute B. canis infections, the ELISA showed a positive result at the same time as a positive PCR result was recorded. This was 24-48h before parasites could be detected by light microscopy. Convalescent samples collected from 6 B. canis-infected dogs at least 14days post treatment resulted in negative ELISA reactions. The hyper-acute to acute phase of a B. canis infection represents an emergency situation with high mortality. To increase the chances of survival, a fast and accurate diagnosis and immediate treatment is required. The current study demonstrates the opportunity of an early and specific detection of acute infections by an AgELISA that is potentially translatable to a rapid diagnostic test design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Diagnostic performance of ELISA, IFAT and Western blot for the detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies in cats using a Bayesian analysis without a gold standard.

    PubMed

    Persichetti, Maria Flaminia; Solano-Gallego, Laia; Vullo, Angela; Masucci, Marisa; Marty, Pierre; Delaunay, Pascal; Vitale, Fabrizio; Pennisi, Maria Grazia

    2017-03-13

    Anti-Leishmania antibodies are increasingly investigated in cats for epidemiological studies or for the diagnosis of clinical feline leishmaniosis. The immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT), the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blot (WB) are the serological tests more frequently used. The aim of the present study was to assess diagnostic performance of IFAT, ELISA and WB to detect anti-L. infantum antibodies in feline serum samples obtained from endemic (n = 76) and non-endemic (n = 64) areas and from cats affected by feline leishmaniosis (n = 21) by a Bayesian approach without a gold standard. Cut-offs were set at 80 titre for IFAT and 40 ELISA units for ELISA. WB was considered positive in presence of at least a 18 KDa band. Statistical analysis was performed through a written routine with MATLAB software in the Bayesian framework. The latent data and observations from the joint posterior were simulated in the Bayesian approach by an iterative Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique using the Gibbs sampler for estimating sensitivity and specificity of the three tests. The median seroprevalence in the sample used for evaluating the performance of tests was estimated at 0.27 [credible interval (CI) = 0.20-0.34]. The median sensitivity of the three different methods was 0.97 (CI: 0.86-1.00), 0.75 (CI: 0.61-0.87) and 0.70 (CI: 0.56-0.83) for WB, IFAT and ELISA, respectively. Median specificity reached 0.99 (CI: 0.96-1.00) with WB, 0.97 (CI: 0.93-0.99) with IFAT and 0.98 (CI: 0.94-1.00) with ELISA. IFAT was more sensitive than ELISA (75 vs 70%) for the detection of subclinical infection while ELISA was better for diagnosing clinical leishmaniosis when compared with IFAT (98 vs 97%). The overall performance of all serological techniques was good and the most accurate test for anti-Leishmania antibody detection in feline serum samples was WB.

  11. [Prokaryotic expression of the major antigenic domain of equine arteritis virus GL protein and the establishment of putative indirect ELISA assay].

    PubMed

    Liang, Cheng-Zhu; Cao, Rui-Bing; Wei, Jian-Chao; Zhu, Lai-Hua; Chen, Pu-Yan

    2006-06-01

    According to the antigenic analysis of equine arteritis virus (EAV) GL protein, one pair of primers were designed, with which the gene fragment coding the high antigenic domain of EAV GL protein was amplified from the EAV genome. The cloned gene was digested with BamH I and Xho I and then inserted into pET-32a and resulted pET-GL1. The pET-GL1 was transformed into the host cell BL21(DE3) and the expression was optimized including cultivation temperature and concentration of IPTG. The aim protein was highly expressed and the obtained recombinant protein manifested well reactiongenicity as was confirmed by Western blot. The recombinant GL1 protein was purified by the means of His * Bind resin protein purification procedure. Then an indirect ELISA was established to detect antibody against EAV with the purified GL1 protein as the coating antigen. The result showed that the optimal concentration of coated antigen was 9.65 microg/mL and the optimal dilution of serum was 1:80. The positive criterion of this ELISA assay is OD (the tested serum) > 0.4 and OD (the tested serum) /OD (the negative serum) > 2.0. The iGL-ELISA was evaluated versus micro-virus neutralization test. The ELISA was performed on 900 sera from which were preserved by this lab during horse entry/exit inspection, the agreement (94.1%) of these test were considered suitable for individual serological detection. In another test which 180 sera samples were detected by iGL-ELISA and INGEZIM ELISA kit respectively. The agreement ratio between the two methods is 95.6%.

  12. Investigation of bovine venereal campyloacteriosis in beef cow herds in New Zealand.

    PubMed

    McFadden, A M; Heuer, C; Jackson, R; West, D M; Parkinson, T J

    2005-02-01

    To determine regional prevalences of beef cow herds in New Zealand positive for Campylobacter fetus subsp venerealis antibodies in samples of vaginal mucus tested using an immunoglobulin (Ig) A enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and to examine the suitability of the IgA ELISA for detecting infection with C. fetus subsp venerealis under field conditions in New Zealand. Vaginal mucus samples (n=1,230) collected from beef cow herds (n=125) throughout New Zealand (approximately 10 samples/herd) were tested for antibodies to C. fetus subsp venerealis using an IgA ELISA. Test results were compared between herds classified as having low, medium and high fertility based on pregnancy test results interpreted in relation to the duration of the mating period used. In addition, a small number of samples were collected from dairy cows that were mated using artificial insemination (AI) and had no contact with breeding bulls. The influence of putative risk factors for the spread of venereal disease and the effect of sample quality on the status of herds according to test results was assessed using multivariate logistical regression. Preputial washings from 54 bulls from nine herds classified as low fertility in which mucus samples from > or =3 cows were IgA antibody-positive were cultured for the presence of Campylobacter spp, and isolates of C. fetus subspecies were characterised using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. One or more mucus samples was positive to the IgA ELISA in 70% of all herds tested. The prevalence of IgA antibody- positive individuals was >20% in most regions of New Zealand and did not differ significantly for cows from herds classified as high, medium or low fertility (28%, 26% and 23%, respectively; p=0.39). No relationship was found between mucus antibody status and age of breeding group, herd size, herd fertility, number of herds that female replacements or breeding bulls were sourced from, whether a serving ability test (SAT) was used to assess bulls, or the quality of samples submitted to the laboratory. Campylobacter fetus subsp venerealis was not cultured from any of the 54 bulls sampled. Four other species of Campylobacter and related organisms were cultured, viz Arcobacter cryaerophilus, Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter fetus subsp fetus and Helicobacter cinaedi. The specificity of the IgA ELISA as a diagnostic test for C. fetus subsp venerealis was found to be unsatisfactory under New Zealand conditions. It is possible that an immunological response by cows to Campylobacter species other than C. fetus subsp venerealis caused cross-reactivity in the IgA ELISA. The results do not support the hypothesis that C. fetus subsp venerealis is widespread in New Zealand.

  13. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay compared with neutralization tests for evaluation of live mumps vaccines.

    PubMed Central

    Sakata, H; Hishiyama, M; Sugiura, A

    1984-01-01

    Mumps-specific antibody levels before and after vaccination with live mumps vaccines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization tests. A correlation was found between neutralization titers and optical density in ELISA. However, postvaccination sera from some vaccinees who failed to seroconvert by neutralization contained significant levels of mumps-specific antibody detectable by ELISA. In some of these serum specimens, the antibody directed to the F polypeptide of mumps virus was predominant. Most sera positive in ELISA neutralized mumps virus upon the addition of fresh guinea pig serum to the virus-serum mixture. Images PMID:6361060

  14. Experimental layout, data analysis, and thresholds in ELISA testing of maize for aphid-borne viruses.

    PubMed

    Caciagli, P; Verderio, A

    2003-06-30

    Several aspects of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) procedures and data analysis have been examined in an attempt to find a rapid and reliable method for discriminating between 'positive' and 'negative' results when testing a large number of samples. A layout of ELISA plates was designed to reduce uncontrolled variation and to optimize the number of negative and positive controls. A transformation using the fourth root (A(1/4)) of the optical density readings corrected for the blank (A) stabilized the variance of most ELISA data examined. Transformed A values were used to calculate the true limits, at a set protection level, for false positive (C) and false negative (D). Methods are discussed to reduce the number of undifferentiated samples, i.e. the samples with response falling between C and D. The whole procedure was set up for use with an electronic spreadsheet. With the addition of few instructions of the type 'if em leader then em leader else' in the spreadsheet, the ELISA results were obtained in the simple trichotomous form 'negative/undefined/positive'. This allowed rapid analysis of more than 1100 maize samples testing for the presence of seven aphid-borne viruses-in fact almost 8000 ELISA samples.

  15. Development of a Quantitative Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting the MPT64 Antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

    PubMed Central

    Ji, Mijung; Cho, Byungki; Cho, Young Shik; Park, Song-Yong; Cho, Sang-Nae

    2014-01-01

    Purpose Tuberculosis (TB) is a major infectious disease and is responsible for two million deaths annually. For the identification and quantitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), a causative agent of TB, a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the MPT64 protein of M. tuberculosis, an antigen marker of the M. tuberculosis complex, was developed. Materials and Methods The MPT64 protein was expressed, and anti-MPT64 monoclonal antibodies were prepared. A sandwich ELISA was established using recombinant MPT64 protein and anti-MPT64 monoclonal antibodies. The sandwich MPT64 ELISA was evaluated using reference and clinical mycobacterial strains. Results The sandwich MPT64 ELISA detected MPT64 protein from 2.1 ng/mL to 250 ng/mL (equivalent to 1.7×104 CFU/mL and 2.0×106 CFU/mL). All 389 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates tested positive in the sandwich MPT64 ELISA (sensitivity, 100%), and the assay showed no cross reactivity to any tested nontuberculous mycobacterial strain (specificity, 100%). Conclusion The sandwich MPT64 ELISA is a highly sensitive and quantitative test for MPT64 protein, which can identify M. tuberculosis. PMID:24719143

  16. Development of a quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting the MPT64 antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

    PubMed

    Ji, Mijung; Cho, Byungki; Cho, Young Shik; Park, Song-Yong; Cho, Sang-Nae; Jeon, Bo-Young; Yoon, Byoung-Su

    2014-05-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) is a major infectious disease and is responsible for two million deaths annually. For the identification and quantitation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), a causative agent of TB, a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the MPT64 protein of M. tuberculosis, an antigen marker of the M. tuberculosis complex, was developed. The MPT64 protein was expressed, and anti-MPT64 monoclonal antibodies were prepared. A sandwich ELISA was established using recombinant MPT64 protein and anti-MPT64 monoclonal antibodies. The sandwich MPT64 ELISA was evaluated using reference and clinical mycobacterial strains. The sandwich MPT64 ELISA detected MPT64 protein from 2.1 ng/mL to 250 ng/mL (equivalent to 1.7×10⁴ CFU/mL and 2.0×10⁶ CFU/mL). All 389 clinical M. tuberculosis isolates tested positive in the sandwich MPT64 ELISA (sensitivity, 100%), and the assay showed no cross reactivity to any tested nontuberculous mycobacterial strain (specificity, 100%). The sandwich MPT64 ELISA is a highly sensitive and quantitative test for MPT64 protein, which can identify M. tuberculosis.

  17. A novel double recognition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay based on the nucleocapsid protein for early detection of European porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection.

    PubMed

    Venteo, A; Rebollo, B; Sarraseca, J; Rodriguez, M J; Sanz, A

    2012-04-01

    Precise and rapid detection of porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection in swine farms is critical. Improvement of control procedures, such as testing incoming gilt and surveillance of seronegative herds requires more rapid and sensitive methods. However, standard serological techniques detect mainly IgG antibodies. A double recognition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DR-ELISA) was developed for detection of antibodies specific to European PRRSV. This new assay can recognize both IgM and IgG antibodies to PRSSV which might be useful for detecting in routine surveillance assays pigs that are in the very early stages of infection and missed by conventional assays detecting only IgG antibodies. DR-ELISA is based on the double recognition of antigen by antibody. In this study, the recombinant nucleocapsid protein (N) of PRRSV was used both as the coating and the enzyme-conjugated antigen. To evaluate the sensitivity of the assay at early stages of the infection, sera from 69 pigs infected with PRRSV were collected during successive days post infection (pi) and tested. While standard methods showed low sensitivity rates before day 14 pi, DR-ELISA detected 88.4% seropositive samples at day 7 showing greater sensitivity at early stages of the infection. Further studies were carried out to assess the efficiency of the new assay, and the results showed DR-ELISA to be a sensitive and accurate method for early diagnosis of EU-PRRSV infection. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Detection of African Swine Fever Virus Antibodies in Serum and Oral Fluid Specimens Using a Recombinant Protein 30 (p30) Dual Matrix Indirect ELISA.

    PubMed

    Giménez-Lirola, Luis G; Mur, Lina; Rivera, Belen; Mogler, Mark; Sun, Yaxuan; Lizano, Sergio; Goodell, Christa; Harris, D L Hank; Rowland, Raymond R R; Gallardo, Carmina; Sánchez-Vizcaíno, José Manuel; Zimmerman, Jeff

    2016-01-01

    In the absence of effective vaccine(s), control of African swine fever caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) must be based on early, efficient, cost-effective detection and strict control and elimination strategies. For this purpose, we developed an indirect ELISA capable of detecting ASFV antibodies in either serum or oral fluid specimens. The recombinant protein used in the ELISA was selected by comparing the early serum antibody response of ASFV-infected pigs (NHV-p68 isolate) to three major recombinant polypeptides (p30, p54, p72) using a multiplex fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay (FMIA). Non-hazardous (non-infectious) antibody-positive serum for use as plate positive controls and for the calculation of sample-to-positive (S:P) ratios was produced by inoculating pigs with a replicon particle (RP) vaccine expressing the ASFV p30 gene. The optimized ELISA detected anti-p30 antibodies in serum and/or oral fluid samples from pigs inoculated with ASFV under experimental conditions beginning 8 to 12 days post inoculation. Tests on serum (n = 200) and oral fluid (n = 200) field samples from an ASFV-free population demonstrated that the assay was highly diagnostically specific. The convenience and diagnostic utility of oral fluid sampling combined with the flexibility to test either serum or oral fluid on the same platform suggests that this assay will be highly useful under the conditions for which OIE recommends ASFV antibody surveillance, i.e., in ASFV-endemic areas and for the detection of infections with ASFV isolates of low virulence.

  19. Estimation of the diagnostic performance of two ELISAs to detect PCV2 antibodies in pig sera using a Bayesian method.

    PubMed

    Fablet, C; Rose, N; Bernard, C; Messager, I; Piel, Y; Grasland, B

    2017-11-01

    This study was designed to assess the diagnostic characteristics of two PCV2 ELISAs without a gold standard. Four hundred and sixty-five serum samples from finishing pigs (25 herds) not vaccinated against PCV2 were used. Samples were tested by two ELISAs: an in-house ELISA (I-ELISA) and the commercial SERELISA ® PCV2 Ab Mono Blocking kit (S-ELISA). A ROC curve was used to assess the S-ELISA's optimal threshold by taking the I-ELISA as a reference and using the cut-off previously determined by comparison to an cccmonolayer assay (IPMA). This led to an S-ELISA result ≥170 being considered as positive. The sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of each ELISA were then estimated without a gold standard using a Bayesian approach. The mean Se and Sp values of the I-ELISA were slightly higher than those of the S-ELISA (mean Se I-ELISA=0.90 vs. mean Se S-ELISA=0.86; mean Sp I-ELISA=0.92 vs. mean Sp S-ELISA=0.85). However, the 95% credibility intervals (CI95%) overlapped (Se I-ELISA CI95%=0.85-0.95 vs. Se S-ELISA CI95%=0.82-0.90; Sp I-ELISA CI95%=0.82-0.98 vs. Sp S-ELISA CI95%=0.75-0.94). Both ELISAs appeared to be valuable tools for detecting PCV2 antibodies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and IgM capture ELISA for detection of antibodies to lipopolysaccharide in adult typhoid fever patients in Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Sippel, J; Bukhtiari, N; Awan, M B; Krieg, R; Duncan, J F; Karamat, K A; Malik, I A; Igbal, L M; Legters, L

    1989-06-01

    Sera from 339 adult febrile patients in Pakistan were tested for antibodies to Salmonella typhi lipopolysaccharide by indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgM capture ELISA. A total of 55 patients had S. typhi cultured from their blood, 20 had S. typhi cultured from their stool, 24 were blood or stool culture positive for S. paratyphi A, 41 were culture negative but clinically diagnosed as having enteric fever, 41 had gastrointestinal or urinary tract infections, 41 were clinically diagnosed as having malaria, 20 were smear-positive patients with malaria, 58 had respiratory infections, and the remaining 39 individuals were placed in a miscellaneous group who did not have Salmonella infection. The sensitivities of the indirect IgG ELISA, indirect IgM ELISA, and IgM capture ELISA determined with specimens obtained from the blood culture-positive patients with typhoid fever (positive controls) were 80, 64, and 62%, respectively. The specificities of the assays determined with sera from the patients with respiratory infections (negative controls) were 95, 95, and 97%, respectively. The percentage of smear-positive patients with malaria who were positive by these assays was lower than that in the negative control group. The percentages of individuals in the other patient categories who were positive by these tests were between those obtained with the positive and negative controls. Of the positive controls, 26 were positive by both IgM assays, 9 were IgM positive only by indirect ELISA, and 8 were IgM positive only by IgM capture ELISA. A total of 70% of the positive control patients who were tested for O agglutinins by the Widal tube agglutination assay were positive; however, 29% of the negative control patients were also positive. The indirect IgG ELISA was the single most effective test for the serodiagnosis of typhoid fever in this population.

  1. Indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and IgM capture ELISA for detection of antibodies to lipopolysaccharide in adult typhoid fever patients in Pakistan.

    PubMed Central

    Sippel, J; Bukhtiari, N; Awan, M B; Krieg, R; Duncan, J F; Karamat, K A; Malik, I A; Igbal, L M; Legters, L

    1989-01-01

    Sera from 339 adult febrile patients in Pakistan were tested for antibodies to Salmonella typhi lipopolysaccharide by indirect immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and IgM capture ELISA. A total of 55 patients had S. typhi cultured from their blood, 20 had S. typhi cultured from their stool, 24 were blood or stool culture positive for S. paratyphi A, 41 were culture negative but clinically diagnosed as having enteric fever, 41 had gastrointestinal or urinary tract infections, 41 were clinically diagnosed as having malaria, 20 were smear-positive patients with malaria, 58 had respiratory infections, and the remaining 39 individuals were placed in a miscellaneous group who did not have Salmonella infection. The sensitivities of the indirect IgG ELISA, indirect IgM ELISA, and IgM capture ELISA determined with specimens obtained from the blood culture-positive patients with typhoid fever (positive controls) were 80, 64, and 62%, respectively. The specificities of the assays determined with sera from the patients with respiratory infections (negative controls) were 95, 95, and 97%, respectively. The percentage of smear-positive patients with malaria who were positive by these assays was lower than that in the negative control group. The percentages of individuals in the other patient categories who were positive by these tests were between those obtained with the positive and negative controls. Of the positive controls, 26 were positive by both IgM assays, 9 were IgM positive only by indirect ELISA, and 8 were IgM positive only by IgM capture ELISA. A total of 70% of the positive control patients who were tested for O agglutinins by the Widal tube agglutination assay were positive; however, 29% of the negative control patients were also positive. The indirect IgG ELISA was the single most effective test for the serodiagnosis of typhoid fever in this population. PMID:2754002

  2. Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Human Taenia Solium Infections in Mbozi District, Mbeya Region, Tanzania

    PubMed Central

    Mwanjali, Gloria; Kihamia, Charles; Kakoko, Deodatus Vitalis Conatus; Lekule, Faustin; Ngowi, Helena; Johansen, Maria Vang; Thamsborg, Stig Milan; Willingham, Arve Lee

    2013-01-01

    Background Taenia solium cysticercosis/taeniosis is emerging as a serious public health and economic problem in many developing countries. This study was conducted to determine prevalence and risk factors of human T. solium infections in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Methods and Findings A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 13 villages of Mbozi district in 2009. Sera of 830 people (mean 37.9±11.3 years (SD); 43% females) were tested for circulating cysticerci antigen (Ag-ELISA) and antibody (Ab-ELISA). A subset of persons found seropositive by Ag-ELISA underwent computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain for evidence of neurocysticercosis. Stool samples from 820 of the same participants were tested for taeniosis by copro-antigens (copro-Ag-ELISA) and formol-ether concentration technique. Cases of T. solium taeniosis were confirmed serologically by EITB assay (rES38). A questionnaire was used for identification of risk factors. Active cysticercosis by positive Ag-ELISA was found in 139 (16.7%) persons while anti-cysticercal antibodies were detected in 376 (45.3%) persons by Ab-ELISA. Among 55 persons positive for Ag-ELISA undergoing CT scan, 30 (54.6%) were found to have structures in the brain suggestive of neurocysticercosis. Using faecal analysis, 43 (5.2%) stool samples tested positive for taeniosis by copro-Ag-ELISA while Taenia eggs were detected in 9 (1.1%) stool samples by routine coprology. Antibodies specifically against adult T. solium were detected in 34 copro-Ag-ELISA positive participants by EITB (rES38) indicating T. solium taeniosis prevalence of 4.1%. Increasing age and hand washing by dipping in contrast to using running water, were found associated with Ag-ELISA seropositivity by logistic regression. Gender (higher risk in females) and water source were risk factors associated with Ab-ELISA seropositivity. Reported symptoms of chronic severe headaches and history of epileptic seizures were found associated with positive Ag-ELISA (p≤0.05). Conclusion The present study indicates T. solium infection in humans is highly endemic in the southern highlands of Tanzania. PMID:23516650

  3. A Quick and Parallel Analytical Method Based on Quantum Dots Labeling for ToRCH-Related Antibodies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Hao; Guo, Qing; He, Rong; Li, Ding; Zhang, Xueqing; Bao, Chenchen; Hu, Hengyao; Cui, Daxiang

    2009-12-01

    Quantum dot is a special kind of nanomaterial composed of periodic groups of II-VI, III-V or IV-VI materials. Their high quantum yield, broad absorption with narrow photoluminescence spectra and high resistance to photobleaching, make them become a promising labeling substance in biological analysis. Here, we report a quick and parallel analytical method based on quantum dots for ToRCH-related antibodies including Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus and Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) and 2 (HSV2). Firstly, we fabricated the microarrays with the five kinds of ToRCH-related antigens and used CdTe quantum dots to label secondary antibody and then analyzed 100 specimens of randomly selected clinical sera from obstetric outpatients. The currently prevalent enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were considered as “golden standard” for comparison. The results show that the quantum dots labeling-based ToRCH microarrays have comparable sensitivity and specificity with ELISA. Besides, the microarrays hold distinct advantages over ELISA test format in detection time, cost, operation and signal stability. Validated by the clinical assay, our quantum dots-based ToRCH microarrays have great potential in the detection of ToRCH-related pathogens.

  4. Serovar prevalence of Leptospira in semirural India and the development of an IgM-based indirect ELISA.

    PubMed

    Chandy, Sara; Kirubanandhan, Lokeshwaran; Hemavathy, Priya; Khadeeja, Anees Mohammad; Kurian, Siby Jacob; Venkataraman, Krishnan; Mørch, Kristine; Mathai, Dilip; Manoharan, Anand

    2017-03-31

    Leptospirosis is a major public health problem in India. However, it has been underreported and under-diagnosed due to a lack of awareness of the disease, a functional surveillance system, and appropriate laboratory diagnostic facilities. This multicenter study aimed to understand the Leptospira serovars causing leptospirosis in seven secondary-level hospitals in six states in India. Since early and accurate diagnosis of leptospirosis is one of the challenges faced by clinicians in India due to the poor specificity and sensitivity of commercially available diagnostic systems, an in-house indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed. Genomic DNA from L. interrogans serovar Canicola was used for polymerase chain reaction amplification, cloning, and expression of the lipL32 gene in E. coli to amplify, clone, and express the lipL32 gene. Australis was the common serovar seen at all the study centers. Serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae was seen in samples from Tamil Nadu and Assam. In-house ELISA was standardized using the purified recombinant LipL32 polypeptide and was used to evaluate serum. Subsequently, acute serum samples from leptospirosis patients (n = 60) were screened. Compared to the gold standard, the microscopic agglutination test, sensitivity and specificity of the in-house ELISA was 95% and 90%, respectively. Understanding Leptospira serovars circulating in leptospirosis-endemic areas will help to formulate better vaccines. LipL32-based ELISA may serve as a valuable tool for early diagnosis of leptospirosis.

  5. [Assessment Method of Remnant α-1, 3-galactosyle Epitopes in Animal Tissue-derived Biomaterials].

    PubMed

    Shan, Yongqiang; Xu, Liming; Ke, Linnan; Lu, Yan; Shao, Anliang; Zhang, Na; Zeng, Bixin

    2015-06-01

    The aim of this study was to establish an assessment method for determining α-Gal (α-1, 3-galactosyle) epitopes contained in animal tissue or animal tissue-derived biological materials with ELISA inhibition assay. Firstly, a 96 well plate was coated with Gal α-1, 3-Gal/bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a solid phase antigen and meanwhile, the anti-α-Gal M86 was used to react with α-Gal antigens which contained in the test materials. Then, the residual antibodies (M86) in the supernatant of M86-Gal reaction mixture were measured using ELISA inhibition assay by the α-Gal coating plate. The inhibition curve of the ELISA inhibition assay, the R2 = 0.999, was well established. Checking using both α-Gal positive materials (rat liver tissues) and α-Gal negative materials (human placenta tissues) showed a good sensitivity and specificity. Based on the presently established method, the α-Gal expression profile of rat tissues, decellular animal tissue-derived biological materials and porcine dermal before and after decellular treatment were determined. The M86 ELISA inhibition assay method, which can quantitatively determine the α-Gal antigens contained in animal tissues or animal tissue-derived biomaterials, was refined. This M86 specific antibody based-ELISA inhibition assay established in the present study has good sensitivity and specificity, and could be a useful method for determining remnant α-1, 3Gal antigens in animal tissue-derived biomaterials.

  6. How should a district general hospital immunology service screen for anti-nuclear antibodies? An ‘in-the-field’ audit

    PubMed Central

    Hira-Kazal, R; Shea-Simonds, P; Peacock, J L; Maher, J

    2015-01-01

    Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) testing assists in the diagnosis of several immune-mediated disorders. The gold standard method for detection of these antibodies is by indirect immunofluorescence testing on human epidermoid laryngeal carcinoma (HEp-2) cells. However, many laboratories test for these antibodies using solid-phase assays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which allows for higher throughput testing at reduced cost. In this study, we have audited the performance of a previously established ELISA assay to screen for ANA, making comparison with the gold standard HEp-2 immunofluorescence test. A prospective and unselected sample of 89 consecutive ANA test requests by consultant rheumatologists were evaluated in parallel over a period of 10 months using both tests. ELISA and HEp-2 screening assays yielded 40 (45%) and 72 (81%) positive test results, respectively, demonstrating lack of concordance between test methods. Using standard and clinical samples, it was demonstrated that the ELISA method did not detect several ANA with nucleolar, homogeneous and speckled immunofluorescence patterns. None of these ELISANEG HEp-2POS ANA were reactive with a panel of six extractable nuclear antigens or with double-stranded DNA. Nonetheless, 13 of these samples (15%) originated from patients with recognized ANA-associated disease (n = 7) or Raynaud's phenomenon (n = 6). We conclude that ELISA screening may fail to detect clinically relevant ANA that lack defined specificity for antigen. PMID:25412573

  7. Prospective Study of Serologic Tests for Lyme Disease

    PubMed Central

    Steere, Allen C.; McHugh, Gail; Damle, Nitin; Sikand, Vijay K.

    2017-01-01

    Background Tests to determine serum antibody levels—the 2-tier sonicate immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot method or the IgG of the variable major protein-like sequence-expressed (VlsE) sixth invariant region (C6) peptide ELISA method—are the major tests available for support of the diagnosis of Lyme disease. However, these tests have not been assessed prospectively. Methods We used these tests prospectively to determine serologic responses in 134 patients with various manifestations of Lyme disease, 89 patients with other illnesses (with or without a history of Lyme disease), and 136 healthy subjects from areas of endemicity and areas in which the infection was not endemic. Results With 2-tier tests and the C6 peptide ELISA, only approximately one-third of 76 patients with erythema migrans had results that were positive for IgM or IgG seroreactivity with Borrelia burgdorferi in acute-phase samples. During convalescence, 3–4 weeks later, almost two-thirds of patients had seroreactivity with the spirochete B. burgdorferi. The frequencies of seroreactivity were significantly greater among patients with spirochetal dissemination than they were among those who lacked evidence of disseminated disease. Of the 44 patients with Lyme disease who had neurologic, heart, or joint involvement, all had positive C6 peptide ELISA results, 42 had IgG responses with 2-tier tests, and 2 patients with facial palsy had only IgM responses. However, among the control groups, the IgG Western blot was slightly more specific than the C6 peptide ELISA. The differences between the 2 test systems (2-tier testing and C6 peptide ELISA) with respect to sensitivity and specificity were not statistically significant. Conclusions Except in patients with erythema migrans, both test systems were sensitive for support of the diagnosis of Lyme disease. However, with current methods, 2-tier testing was associated with slightly better specificity. PMID:18532885

  8. Development of epitope-blocking ELISA for universal detection of antibodies to human H5N1 influenza viruses.

    PubMed

    Prabakaran, Mookkan; Ho, Hui-Ting; Prabhu, Nayana; Velumani, Sumathy; Szyporta, Milene; He, Fang; Chan, Kwai-Peng; Chen, Li-Mei; Matsuoka, Yumiko; Donis, Ruben O; Kwang, Jimmy

    2009-01-01

    Human infections with highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses have generally been confirmed by molecular amplification or culture-based methods. Serologic surveillance has potential advantages which have not been realized because rapid and specific serologic tests to detect H5N1 infection are not widely available. Here we describe an epitope-blocking ELISA to detect specific antibodies to H5N1 viruses in human or animal sera. The assay relies on a novel monoclonal antibody (5F8) that binds to an epitope comprising amino acid residues 274-281 (CNTKCQTP) in the HA1 region of H5 hemagglutinin. Database search analysis of publicly available sequences revealed that this epitope is conserved in 100% of the 163 H5N1 viruses isolated from humans. The sensitivity and specificity of the epitope-blocking ELISA for H5N1 were evaluated using chicken antisera to multiple virus clades and other influenza subtypes as well as serum samples from individuals naturally infected with H5N1 or seasonal influenza viruses. The epitope-blocking ELISA results were compared to those of hemagglutinin inhibition (HI) and microneutralization assays. Antibodies to H5N1 were readily detected in immunized animals or convalescent human sera by the epitope-blocking ELISA whereas specimens with antibodies to other influenza subtypes yielded negative results. The assay showed higher sensitivity and specificity as compared to HI and microneutralization. The epitope-blocking ELISA based on a unique 5F8 mAb provided highly sensitive and 100% specific detection of antibodies to H5N1 influenza viruses in human sera.

  9. Cloning and expression of an envelope gene of West Nile virus and evaluation of the protein for use in an IgM ELISA.

    PubMed

    Saxena, Divyasha; Parida, Manmohan; Rao, Putcha Venkata L; Kumar, Jyoti S

    2013-04-01

    West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that has emerged globally as a significant cause of viral encephalitis. The early confirmatory diagnosis of WNV infections is important for timely clinical management and epidemiologic control in areas where multiple flaviviruses are endemic. The coexistence of WNV along with other members of flaviviruses like dengue and Japanese encephalitis in India has complicated the serodiagnosis due to cross-reactive antigens. In the present study, the development and evaluation of a highly sensitive and specific IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the recombinant envelope protein (rWNV-Env) for rapid, early, and accurate diagnosis of WNV are reported. The gene coding for the envelope protein of WNV was cloned and expressed in pET 28a vector followed by purification of recombinant protein by affinity chromatography. An indirect IgM microplate ELISA using purified rWNV-Env protein was optimized having no cross reactivity with healthy human serum. Furthermore, the specificity of this assay was confirmed by cross checking with serum samples obtained from patients with dengue and Japanese encephalitis viruses. The comparative evaluation of this rWNV-Env protein-specific IgM ELISA with plaque reduction neutralization test assay using 105 acute phase of clinical samples revealed 95% concordance with sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 97%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of recombinant-based Env ELISA were 94% and 96%, respectively. The recombinant envelope protein-based WNV-specific ELISA reported in this study will be useful for rapid screening of large numbers of clinical samples in endemic areas during outbreaks. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Cross-reactions in IgM ELISA tests to Legionella pneumophila sg1 and Bordetella pertussis among children suspected of legionellosis; potential impact of vaccination against pertussis?

    PubMed

    Pancer, Katarzyna Wanda

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was preliminary evaluation of IgM cross-reaction in sera collected from children hospitalized because of suspected legionellosis. Sera with positive IgM results to L. pneumophila sgs1-7, B. pertussis or with simultaneous detection of IgM antibodies to L. pneumophila sgs1-7 and B. pertussis, or IgM to L. pneumophila sgs1-7 and M. pneumoniae in routine tests, were selected. In total, an adapted pre-absorption test was used for the serological confirmation of legionellosis in the sera of 19 children suspected of legionellosis, and also in 3 adult persons with confirmed Legionnaires' disease. Sera were pre-absorbed with antigens of L. pneumophila sg1, B. pertussis or both, and tested by ELISA tests. The reduction of IgM antibody level by pre-absorption with antigen/antigens was determined. Reduction of anti-Lpsgs1-7 IgM by pre-absorption with L.pneumophila sg1 antigen ranged from 1.5 to 80, and reduction of anti-Bp IgM by pre-absorption with B. pertussis ranged from 2.0 to 23.8. Reduction by both antigens varied depending on the age of the patients: among children <4 yrs.old, the reduction of anti-B. pertussis IgM by both antigens was higher than for B. pertussis antigen alone. Based on the high difference (≥ 2 times) between reduction by L.pneumophila sg1 and by B. pertussis antigen, legionellosis was confirmed in 8/19 children. The majority of them also indicated IgM positive/borderline results for B. pertussis or M.pneumoniae in routine ELISA tests. As a preliminary, we posed a hypothesis of a potential impact of an anti-pertussis vaccination on the results obtained in anti-L. pneumophila ELISA IgM tests among young children.

  11. A comparison of two antigen-detection ELISA for detecting infection of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs.

    PubMed

    Euclid, J M; Copeman, D B

    1997-09-01

    A survey on 87 dogs necropsied in the Townsville region revealed 34 (39%) were infected with Dirofilaria immitis. Infected dogs had an average of 6.1 adult worms in the heart and associated blood vessels. The VetRED assay detected 23 of the 34 infected dogs (sensitivity 65%) and the Og4C3 ELISA detected 27 (sensitivity 80%). Sensitivity of the VetRED and Og4C3 ELISA increased to 88 and 94% respectively in dogs with three or more worms. Both tests detected correctly all uninfected dogs. Despite the higher accuracy of the Og4C3 ELISA, compared to the VetRED assay, it is unlikely to be used widely as a field test for heartworm unless it can be modified from its present plate ELISA format which takes 4 hours, into one which is more rapid and convenient. However, as a reference ELISA, it may well be worthwhile in situations which require considerable accuracy for detecting D. immitis infection.

  12. A new rapid quantitative test for fecal calprotectin predicts endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis.

    PubMed

    Lobatón, Triana; Rodríguez-Moranta, Francisco; Lopez, Alicia; Sánchez, Elena; Rodríguez-Alonso, Lorena; Guardiola, Jordi

    2013-04-01

    Fecal calprotectin (FC) determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test has been proposed as a promising biomarker of endoscopic activity in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, data on its accuracy in predicting endoscopic activity is scarce. Besides, FC determined by the quantitative-point-of-care test (FC-QPOCT) that provides rapid and individual results could optimize its use in clinical practice. The aims of our study were to evaluate the ability of FC to predict endoscopic activity according to the Mayo score in patients with UC when determined by FC-QPOCT and to compare it with the ELISA test (FC-ELISA). FC was determined simultaneously by FC-ELISA and FC-QPOCT in patients with UC undergoing colonoscopy. Clinical disease activity and endoscopy were assessed according to the Mayo score. Blood tests were taken to analyze serological biomarkers. A total of 146 colonoscopies were performed on 123 patients with UC. FC-QPOCT correlated more closely with the Mayo endoscopic subscore (Spearman's correlation coefficient rank r = 0.727, P < 0.001) than clinical activity (r = 0.636, P < 0.001), platelets (r = 0.381, P < 0.001), leucocytes (r = 0.300, P < 0.001), and C-reactive protein (r = 0.291, P = 0.002). The prediction of "endoscopic remission" (Mayo endoscopic subscore ≤1) with FC-QPOCT (280 µg/g) and FC-ELISA (250 µg/g) presented an area under the curve of 0.906 and 0.924, respectively. The interclass correlation index between both tests was 0.904 (95% confidence interval, 0.864-0.932; P < 0.001). FC determined by QPOCT was an accurate surrogate marker of "endoscopic remission" in UC and presented a good correlation with the FC-ELISA test.

  13. Development and validation of a quantitative competitive ELISA for potency testing of equine anti rabies sera with other potential use.

    PubMed

    Korimbocus, Jehanara; Dehay, Nicolas; Tordo, Noël; Cano, François; Morgeaux, Sylvie

    2016-06-14

    In case of a bite by a rabies infected animal, the World Health Organisation recommends a prophylactic treatment including the administration of Human Rabies Immunoglobulins (HRIGs) or highly purified F(ab')2 fragments produced from Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin (F(ab')2 - ERIGs). According to international regulation, quality control of F(ab')2 - ERIGs lots requires potency testing by the in vivo Mouse Neutralisation Test (MNT) prior marketing. However, the strategy of the 3Rs (Reduce, Refine, Replace) for animal testing required by the European Directive encourages the replacement of the in vivo potency test by an in vitro assay. In this context, a competitive ELISA method (c-ELISA) has been developed by the Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des Produits de Santé where F(ab')2 - ERIGs are in competition with a monoclonal antibody recognizing the trimeric native form of the rabies glycoprotein. After a full validation study, the c-ELISA has been applied to commercial batches of F(ab')2 - ERIGs. A correlation study with the MNT demonstrated a similarity between the two methods (r=0.751). Moreover, the c-ELISA method which does not need any species specific reagent has been applied to HRIGs potency testing as an alternative method to Rapid Fluorescent Focus Inhibition Test (RFFIT), thus avoiding the handling of live rabies virus in BSL3 containment. In conclusion, the c-ELISA has shown its potential to replace MNT and possibly RFFIT for the quantification of rabies immunoglobulin. After optimisation it may be used for the quantification of rabies immunoglobulin in any animal species, notably for rabies immunogenicity assay in mice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Evaluation of a newly designed sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of hydatid antigen in serum, urine and cyst fluid for diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis

    PubMed Central

    Chaya, DR; Parija, Subhash Chandra

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a zoonotic disease of humans with variable clinical manifestations. Imaging and immunological methods are currently the mainstay of diagnosis of this disease. Although the immunological tests for detection of anti-echinococcal antibodies have several disadvantages, they are widely being used. Antigen is far more superior than antibody detection test as they can provide a specific parasitic diagnosis. Materials and Methods: A sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was designed using antibodies to 24 kDa urinary hydatid antigen for the detection of hydatid antigens in urine, serum and cyst fluid specimens. The performance of this novel test was compared with that of other hydatid antibody detection ELISA and enzyme immune transfer blot (EITB) using radiological and surgical confirmation as the gold standard. Results: The antigen detection ELISA showed 100% sensitivity and specificity when tested with cyst fluid. On testing urine and serum, the antigen detection ELISA was found to be more specific than antibody detection ELISA. EITB was found to be the most sensitive and specific test. Conclusions: ELISA using polyclonal antibodies against 24 kDa urinary hydatid protein was moderately sensitive to detect hydatid antigen in serum and urine. Hence polyclonal antibodies to 24 kDa urinary hydatid antigen can be used as an alternative source of antibody to detect hydatid antigen in serum, urine and cyst fluid. In the present study, EITB was found to be highly specific test for detection of hydatid antibodiesin serum. 24 kDa protein was found to be specific and of diagnostic value in CE. PMID:24470996

  15. Detection of autoantibodies to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme a reductase by ELISA in a reference laboratory setting.

    PubMed

    Jaskowski, Troy D; La'ulu, Sonia L; Mahler, Michael; Tebo, Anne E

    2017-09-01

    We investigated the performance of an ELISA for the detection of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) IgG antibodies in immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies (IMNM). Patients positive for HMGCR antibodies (n=61) or negative (n=78) by protein immunoprecipitation (IP), and healthy controls (n=100) were used to evaluate the ELISA. Unique consecutive serum samples (n=155) received at ARUP Laboratories for HMGCR IgG testing by ELISA were also investigated and analysed for serum muscle enzymes (aldolase, creatine kinase, and myoglobin). The ELISA's sensitivity, specificity, and percentage agreement were assessed relative to IP. Correlation between specific muscle enzyme concentration and the presence of HMGCR antibody was determined. Overall agreement between ELISA and IP was 93.4%. Using the IP as reference, the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA was 95.1%, and 100%, respectively. Inter- and intra-assay coefficient of variation of the ELISA was <10.0%, and ≤15.0%, respectively. In the consecutive cohort, 21 (13.6%) samples tested positive for HMGCR IgG. Concentrations of aldolase, creatine kinase, and myoglobin were significantly higher (all p<0.0001) in patients positive for HMGCR antibodies at the time of evaluation. We confirm significant reliability of HMGCR antibodies as measured by the ELISA for the evaluation of IMNM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Bayesian validation of a serum and milk ELISA for antibodies against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Greek dairy goats across lactation.

    PubMed

    Angelidou, E; Kostoulas, P; Leontides, L

    2014-02-01

    We validated a commercial (Idexx Pourquier, Montpellier, France) serum and milk indirect ELISA that detects antibodies against Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in Greek dairy goats. Each goat was sampled 4 times, starting from kidding and covering early, mid, and late lactation. A total of 1,268 paired milk (or colostrum) and serum samples were collected during the 7-mo lactation period. Bayesian latent class models, which allow for the continuous interpretation of test results, were used to derive the distribution of the serum and milk ELISA response for healthy and MAP-infected individuals at each lactation stage. Both serum and milk ELISA, in all lactation stages, had average and similar overall discriminatory ability as measured by the area under the curve (AUC). For each test, the smallest overlap between the distribution of the healthy and MAP-infected does was in late lactation. At this stage, the AUC was 0.89 (95% credible interval: 0.70; 0.98) and 0.92 (0.74; 0.99) for the milk and serum ELISA, respectively. Both tests had comparable sensitivities and specificities at the recommended cutoffs across lactation. Lowering the cutoffs led to an increase in sensitivity without serious loss in specificity. In conclusion, the milk ELISA was as accurate as the serum ELISA. Therefore, it could serve as the diagnostic tool of choice, especially during the implementation of MAP control programs that require frequent testing, because milk sampling is a noninvasive, rapid, and easy process. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Immunodiagnosis and molecular validation of Toxoplasma gondii-recombinant dense granular (GRA) 7 protein for the detection of toxoplasmosis in patients with cancer.

    PubMed

    Arab-Mazar, Zahra; Fallahi, Shirzad; Koochaki, Ameneh; Haghighi, Ali; Seyyed Tabaei, Seyyed Javad

    2016-02-01

    Serological assays for the diagnosis of toxoplasmosis mostly rely on the tachyzoite specific antigens of Toxoplasma gondii, which are difficult to produce by conventional methods. The aim of this study was to clone and express of GRA7 protein of T. gondii and evaluate its potential for immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis in cancer patients. As well as validate the results using a new molecular assay, LAMP technique. The GRA7 gene was successfully cloned, expressed and purified by affinity chromatography and the production was evaluated by SDS PAGE, dot blot and western blot analyses. The rGRA7 was used for developing an ELISA based on the rGRA7 using sera from patients with toxoplasmosis and healthy controls. Furthermore, 50 serum samples from leukemic children infected with toxoplasmosis and 50 seronegative controls were included to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of rGRA7 based ELISA. Finally, the LAMP technique was used to assess the accuracy and validity of the results obtained by rGRA7 based ELISA. The consistency of the results of two tests was determined by using the Kappa coefficient of agreement. The rGRA7 showed higher and optimum immunoreactivity with 1:100 dilution of serum from Toxoplasma infected patients. The sensitivity and specificity of test were calculated as 92 and 94%, respectively. According to the Kappa coefficient of agreement, there was a significant conformance between the results obtained by ELISA based on the rGRA7 and the results of LAMP technique (≈96%, P<0.001). Findings of the present study showed that rGRA7 can be used as a potential immunogenic antigen for developing immunodiagnostic tools for immunodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis in patients including patients with cancer. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

  18. Taenia solium porcine cysticercosis in Madagascar: Comparison of immuno-diagnostic techniques and estimation of the prevalence in pork carcasses traded in Antananarivo city.

    PubMed

    Porphyre, V; Betson, M; Rabezanahary, H; Mboussou, Y; Zafindraibe, N J; Rasamoelina-Andriamanivo, H; Costard, S; Pfeiffer, D U; Michault, A

    2016-03-30

    Taenia solium cysticercosis was reported in official veterinary and medical statistics to be highly prevalent in pigs and humans in Madagascar, but few estimates are available for pigs. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of porcine cysticercosis among pigs slaughtered in Antananarivo abattoirs. Firstly, the diagnostic performance of two antigen-ELISA techniques (B158B60 Ag-ELISA and HP10 Ag-ELISA) and an immunoblotting method were compared with meat inspection procedures on a sample of pigs suspected to be infected with (group 1; n=250) or free of (group 2; n=250) T. solium based on direct veterinary inspection in Madagascar. Sensitivity and specificity of the antigen ELISAs were then estimated using a Bayesian approach for detection of porcine cysticercosis in the absence of a gold standard. Then, a third set of pig sera (group 3, n=250) was randomly collected in Antananarivo slaughterhouses and tested to estimate the overall prevalence of T. solium contamination in pork meat traded in Antananarivo. The antigen ELISAs showed a high sensitivity (>84%), but the B158B60 Ag-ELISA appeared to be more specific than the HP10 Ag-ELISA (model 1: 95% vs 74%; model 2: 87% vs 71%). The overall prevalence of porcine cysticercosis in Antananarivo slaughterhouses was estimated at 2.3% (95% credibility interval [95%CrI]: 0.09-9.1%) to 2.6% (95%CrI: 0.1-10.3%) depending on the model and priors used. Since the sample used in this study is not representative of the national pig population, village-based surveys and longitudinal monitoring at slaughter are needed to better estimate the overall prevalence, geographical patterns and main risk factors for T. solium contamination, in order to improve control policies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Comparison between microscopic examination, ELISA and quantitative buffy coat analysis in the diagnosis of falciparum malaria in an endemic population.

    PubMed

    Tanpradist, S; Tharavanij, S; Yamokgul, P; Bualombai, P; Wongchotigul, V; Singhasivanon, P; Patarapotikul, J; Thammapalerd, N; Prasittisuk, C; Tantanasrikul, S

    1995-03-01

    Monoclonal antibody-based ELISA and QBC (quantitative buffy coat analysis) were tested in two endemic areas with low and high incidence of malaria in Kanchanaburi Province, West Thailand with annual parasite incidence in 1992 of 119 and 5 per 1,000 population, respectively. The numbers of individuals positive by thick blood film examination (TBF) for P. falciparum with or without P. vivax, and P. vivax only were 82 and 69, respectively. The detection limit of ELISA was 10 parasites/10(6) red blood cells (RBC) (0.001% parasitemia). Of 1,095 individuals involved in the study at the beginning of the study, ELISA showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 78.1%, 94.9%, 72% and 98.1%, respectively. Nine of 18 (50%) TBF-positive but ELISA-positive individuals had parasitemia of less than 10 parasites/10(6) RBC. High and low incidence areas did not affect the validity of our result. Regression analysis showed good correlation between log parasitemia and ELISA percent OD increase (Y = 0 + 64.9*logX, r = 0.65), and agreement between TBF and ELISA results was 95.9%. In a fortnightly follow-up, in 82 TBF-positive individuals, both ELISA and TBF positive rates correlatively declined with agreement of 96.3%. With samples taken on the first day of the study, the TBF and QBC results were also correlated with agreement of 95.8% for P. falciparum, 95.6% for P. vivax. During 8 week follow-up involving altogether 191 samples, agreement between TBF and QBC results were 87.4% for P. falciparum. QBC detected more cases with P. falciparum infections but detected smaller number of cases with P. vivax infections.

  20. Recombinant nucleocapsid protein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibody to turkey coronavirus.

    PubMed

    Abdelwahab, Mohamed; Loa, Chien Chang; Wu, Ching Ching; Lin, Tsang Long

    2015-06-01

    Nucleocapsid (N) protein gene of turkey coronavirus (TCoV) was expressed in a prokaryotic system and used to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibody to TCoV. Anti-TCoV hyperimmune turkey serum and normal turkey serum were used as positive or negative controls for optimization of the ELISA. Goat anti-turkey IgG (H+L) conjugated with horseradish peroxidase was used as detector antibody. Three hundred and twenty two turkey sera from the field were used to evaluate the performance of ELISA and determine the cut-off point of ELISA. The established ELISA was also examined with serum samples obtained from turkeys experimentally infected with TCoV. Those serum samples were collected at various time intervals from 1 to 63 days post-infection. The optimum conditions for differentiation between anti-TCoV hyperimmune serum and normal turkey serum were recombinant TCoV N protein concentration at 20 μg/ml, serum dilution at 1:800, and conjugate dilution at 1:10,000. Of the 322 sera from the field, 101 were positive for TCoV by immunofluorescent antibody assay (IFA). The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA relative to IFA test were 86.0% and 96.8%, respectively, using the optimum cut-off point of 0.2 as determined by logistic regression method. Reactivity of anti-rotavirus, anti-reovirus, anti-adenovirus, or anti-enterovirus antibodies with the recombinant N protein coated on the ELISA plates was not detected. These results indicated that the established antibody-capture ELISA in conjunction with recombinant TCoV N protein as the coating protein can be utilized for detection of antibodies to TCoV in turkey flocks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Immunodiagnostic identification of dairy cows infected with Prototheca zopfii at various clinical stages and discrimination between infected and uninfected cows.

    PubMed

    Roesler, U; Scholz, H; Hensel, A

    2001-02-01

    Protothecosis is a severe form of mastitis in cattle that is caused by colorless algae of the genus Prototheca. So far, no suitable serological test for the identification of infected animals is available for routine diagnosis. In this study an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the identification of infected cows and for discriminating among infected cows at various clinical stages was developed. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum and IgA and IgG1 in whey were used as antibody isotypes. The ELISA was evaluated using serum and whey from animals at different clinical stages of infection. A total of 12 cows with acute clinical manifestation of protothecal mastitis, 22 cows with clinical signs of chronic mastitis, 40 Prototheca zopfii-negative cows, and 18 cows with chronic clinical signs and earlier cultures positive for P. zopfii but with presently negative culturing results were investigated. A sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 94% were calculated for the ELISA based on IgA levels. Intra-assay and interassay variations were calculated to be 6.08 and 6.32%, respectively. Based on these data, this ELISA was found to be suitable for discrimination between infected and uninfected animals and might therefore be useful for screening affected herds.

  2. Immunodiagnostic Identification of Dairy Cows Infected with Prototheca zopfii at Various Clinical Stages and Discrimination between Infected and Uninfected Cows

    PubMed Central

    Roesler, Uwe; Scholz, Holger; Hensel, Andreas

    2001-01-01

    Protothecosis is a severe form of mastitis in cattle that is caused by colorless algae of the genus Prototheca. So far, no suitable serological test for the identification of infected animals is available for routine diagnosis. In this study an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the identification of infected cows and for discriminating among infected cows at various clinical stages was developed. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) in serum and IgA and IgG1 in whey were used as antibody isotypes. The ELISA was evaluated using serum and whey from animals at different clinical stages of infection. A total of 12 cows with acute clinical manifestation of protothecal mastitis, 22 cows with clinical signs of chronic mastitis, 40 Prototheca zopfii-negative cows, and 18 cows with chronic clinical signs and earlier cultures positive for P. zopfii but with presently negative culturing results were investigated. A sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 94% were calculated for the ELISA based on IgA levels. Intra-assay and interassay variations were calculated to be 6.08 and 6.32%, respectively. Based on these data, this ELISA was found to be suitable for discrimination between infected and uninfected animals and might therefore be useful for screening affected herds. PMID:11158103

  3. Selectivity verification of cardiac troponin monoclonal antibodies for cardiac troponin detection by using conventional ELISA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fathil, M. F. M.; Arshad, M. K. Md; Gopinath, Subash C. B.; Adzhri, R.; Ruslinda, A. R.; Hashim, U.

    2017-03-01

    This paper presents preparation and characterization of conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for cardiac troponin detection to determine the selectivity of the cardiac troponin monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies, used to capture and bind the targets in this experiment, are cTnI monoclonal antibody (MAb-cTnI) and cTnT monoclonal antibody (MAb-cTnT), while both cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and T (cTnT) are used as targets. ELISA is performed inside two microtiter plates for MAb-cTnI and MAb-cTnT. For each plate, monoclonal antibodies are tested by various concentrations of cTnI and cTnT ranging from 0-6400 µg/l. The binding selectivity and level of detection between monoclonal antibodies and antigen are determined through visual observation based on the color change inside each well on the plate. ELISA reader is further used to quantitatively measured the optical density of the color changes, thus produced more accurate reading. The results from this experiment are utilized to justify the use of these monoclonal antibodies as bio-receptors for cardiac troponin detection by using field-effect transistor (FET)-based biosensors coupled with substrate-gate in the future.

  4. Disagreement between the results from three commercial tests for the detection of Borrelia-specific serum antibodies in the Netherlands associated with antibiotic treatment for Lyme borreliosis: a retrospective study.

    PubMed

    van Gorkom, T; Kremer, K; Voet, W; Notermans, D W; Vlaminckx, B J M; Sankatsing, S U C; Thijsen, S F T

    2017-11-01

    The diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis is challenging because of the often non-specific symptoms and persisting antibodies after infection. We investigated the diagnostic characteristics of two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and an immunoblot for the detection of Borrelia-specific serum antibodies using different test strategies in individuals with and without antibiotic treatment for Lyme borreliosis. This retrospective study included healthy individuals, patients with active Lyme neuroborreliosis and patients treated for Lyme neuroborreliosis. Two ELISAs were compared: the C6 ELISA and the SERION ELISA. Equivocal and positive results were confirmed by immunoblot. We included 174 healthy individuals, of whom 27 (15.5%) were treated for Lyme borreliosis in the past, 36 patients were treated for Lyme neuroborreliosis and 27 patients had active Lyme neuroborreliosis. All the active Lyme neuroborreliosis patients were reactive in both ELISAs (100% sensitivity); less reactivity was seen in the other three groups (range 17.7% to 69.4%). The concordance between the ELISA results was high in active Lyme neuroborreliosis patients (26/27; 96.3%) and healthy individuals (131/147; 89.1%), but lower in treated healthy individuals (18/27; 66.7%) and treated Lyme neuroborreliosis patients (18/36; 50.0%) (p ≤ 0.005). This study showed that antibiotic treatment against Lyme borreliosis was strongly associated with discordant ELISA and test strategy results (odds ratio: 10.52; p < 0.001 and 9.98; p = 0.014, respectively) suggesting antibiotic treatment influences the pace at which the various antibodies directed to the different antigens used in both ELISAs wane. Among treated neuroborreliosis patients, the SERION ELISA stayed positive for a longer period after infection compared to the C6 ELISA. This should be taken into consideration when requesting and/or interpreting Lyme serology.

  5. [Shellfish monitoring system for paralytic shellfish toxins using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay].

    PubMed

    Shinozaki, Takashi; Watanabe, Ryuichi; Kawatsu, Kentaro; Sakurada, Kiyonari; Takahi, Shinya; Ueno, Ken-ichi; Matsushima, Ryoji; Suzuki, Toshiyuki

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the applicability of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (PSP-ELISA) using a monoclonal antibody against paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) for screening oysters collected at several coastal areas in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan. Oysters collected between 2007 and 2010 were analyzed by PSP-ELISA. As an alternative calibrant, a naturally contaminated oyster extract was used to quantify toxins in the oyster samples. The toxicity of the calibrant oyster extract determined by the official testing method, mouse bioassay (MBA), was 4 MU/g. Oyster samples collected over 3 years showed a similar toxin profile to the alternative standard, resulting in good agreement between the PSP-ELISA and the MBA. The PSP-ELISA method was better than the MBA in terms of sensitivity, indicating that it may be useful for earlier warning of contamination of oysters by PST in the distinct coastal areas. To use the PSP-ELISA as a screening method prior to MBA, we finally set a screening level at 2 MU/g PSP-ELISA for oyster monitoring in Kumamoto prefecture. We confirmed that there were on samples exceeding the quarantine level (4 MU/g) in MBA among samples quantified as below the screening level by the PSP-ELISA. It was concluded that the use of PSP-ELISA could reduce the numbers of animals needed for MBA testing.

  6. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of dioxins in contaminated sediment and soil samples

    PubMed Central

    Van Emon, Jeanette M.; Chuang, Jane C.; Lordo, Robert A.; Schrock, Mary E.; Nichkova, Mikaela; Gee, Shirley J.; Hammock, Bruce D.

    2010-01-01

    A 96-microwell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was evaluated to determine PCDDs/PCDFs in sediment and soil samples from an EPA Superfund site. Samples were prepared and analyzed by both the ELISA and a gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry (GC/HRMS) method. Comparable method precision, accuracy, and detection level (8 ng kg−1) were achieved by the ELISA method with respect to GC/HRMS. However, the extraction and cleanup method developed for the ELISA requires refinement for the soil type that yielded a waxy residue after sample processing. Four types of statistical analyses (Pearson correlation coefficient, paired t-test, nonparametric tests, and McNemar’s test of association) were performed to determine whether the two methods produced statistically different results. The log-transformed ELISA-derived 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin values and logtransformed GC/HRMS-derived TEQ values were significantly correlated (r = 0.79) at the 0.05 level. The median difference in values between ELISA and GC/HRMS was not significant at the 0.05 level. Low false negative and false positive rates (<10%) were observed for the ELISA when compared to the GC/HRMS at 1000 ng TEQ kg−1. The findings suggest that immunochemical technology could be a complementary monitoring tool for determining concentrations at the 1000 ng TEQ kg−1 action level for contaminated sediment and soil. The ELISA could also be used in an analytical triage approach to screen and rank samples prior to instrumental analysis. PMID:18313102

  7. 77 FR 11137 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-02-24

    ... nonspecific, and the diagnosis is frequently difficult and delayed. The inventors established a rapid ELISA assay to evaluate biomarker levels in serum. The ELISA assay tests a novel combination of two biomarkers...-invasive ELISA serum assay. Potential for high sensitivity. Cost effective. Development Stage: Pilot. Early...

  8. Diagnostic validation of selected serological tests for detecting scrub typhus.

    PubMed

    Koraluru, Munegowda; Bairy, Indira; Varma, Muralidhar; Vidyasagar, Sudha

    2015-07-01

    Clinical diagnosis of scrub typhus is often difficult because the symptoms are very similar to those of other febrile illness such as dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and other viral hemorrhagic fevers. Though better diagnostic tests are available for rickettsial diseases and scrub typhus elsewhere, the Weil-Felix test is still commonly used in India, mainly because microimmunofluorescence assays (M-IFA) were not available in India till recently and relevant staff had insufficient training. The present study was performed to investigate the performance of M-IFA, IgM ELISA, and Weil-Felix test on 546 non-repeated serum samples from subjects suspected of having scrub typhus. One hundred and forty-three of these 546 samples were positive by M-IFA; these cases were also confirmed clinically to have scrub typhus based on their dramatic responses to doxycycline therapy. IgM ELISA was positive in 122 of the 143 M-IFA positive cases and the Weil-Felix test in 96. Though the Weil-Felix test is a heterophile agglutination test, it was found in this study to have good specificity but far too little sensitivity to use as a routine diagnostic test. IgM ELISA can be a good substitute for M-IFA. Incorporation of multiple prototype antigens on M-IFA slides is likely one of the reasons for its superior performance. As newer and better diagnostic assays become available for scrub typhus diagnosis in developed countries, it will be imperative to also use such tests in other endemic countries to prevent over- or under-diagnosis of scrub typhus. © 2015 The Societies and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  9. Ability of immunodiagnostic tests to differentiate between dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum and Leishmune(®)-vaccinated dogs.

    PubMed

    Ribeiro, R A N; Teixeira-Neto, R G; Belo, V S; Ferreira, E C; Schallig, H D F H; Silva, E S

    2015-06-01

    Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a serious chronic disease with a lethality rate of up to 10% in humans. In urban areas of Brazil, dogs are the main reservoirs of the etiological agent (Leishmania infantum) of VL, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health recommends the euthanasia of animals that are seropositive in both the immunochromatographic dual path platform rapid test (DPP(®); Bio-Manguinhos) and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with an L. major-like antigen (Bio-Manguinhos). Vaccination is an additional tool in the control of canine VL, but the use of Leishmune(®) (Zoetis Indústria de Produtos Veterinários, São Paulo, SP, Brazil), which contains the fucose mannose ligand (FML) isolated from L. donovani, is not currently recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health because vaccinated animals may exhibit positive serology and there are reservations regarding the efficacy of the vaccine. The aims of the present study were: (i) to verify the abilities of the fast agglutination screening test (FAST), the direct agglutination test (DAT), the indirect fluorescent-antibody test (IFAT), the DPP rapid test, and ELISA tests with L. major-like and FML antigens to differentiate between L. infantum-infected and Leishmune(®)-vaccinated dogs, and (ii) to analyze the sensitivities and specificities of the different methods. The reactivities to these tests of Leishmune(®)-vaccinated dogs (n = 71), asymptomatic (n = 20) and symptomatic (n = 20) naturally infected dogs, and unvaccinated healthy control dogs (n = 5) were compared. None of the Leishmune(®)-vaccinated dogs tested seropositive in FAST and DAT, although one dog was reactive to DPP and four dogs to ELISA/L. major-like and IFAT tests. While 69 (97%) of vaccinated dogs reacted to ELISA/FML, only one was seropositive in both ELISA/L. major-like and IFAT tests. Individually, all immunodiagnostic tests presented high specificities and positive likelihood ratios (LR+), and high specificity values were obtained when the tests were considered in pairs. However, sensitivity and LR- values were low for ELISA/L. major-like and IFAT tests individually, and for all pair combinations of tests except for FAST with DPP.

  10. Scrub typhus and spotted fever among hospitalised children in South India: Clinical profile and serological epidemiology.

    PubMed

    Kalal, B S; Puranik, P; Nagaraj, S; Rego, S; Shet, A

    2016-01-01

    Rickettsial infections are re-emerging. In India, they are now being reported from several areas where they were previously unknown. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology, clinical profile and outcome of serologically-confirmed scrub typhus and spotted fever among children in a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru. Hospitalised children aged <18 years, with clinical features suggestive of rickettsial disease admitted between January 2010 and October 2012 were included prospectively. Diagnosis was based on scrub typhus and spotted fever-specific IgM and IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Of 103 children with clinical features suggestive of rickettsial illness, ELISA test confirmed 53 cases for scrub typhus, 23 cases for spotted fever group and 14 with mixed infection. The average age was 7.3 (±3.9) years and 44 (71.0%) children were male. Majority of cases were from Karnataka (50%), Andhra Pradesh (32.3%) and Tamil Nadu (17.7%). Common clinical features included fever (100%, average duration 11 days), nausea and vomiting (44%), rash (36%); eschar was rare. Compared to the ELISA test, Weil-Felix test (OX-K titre of 1:80) had a sensitivity and specificity of 88.7% and 43.9%, respectively. Treatment with chloramphenicol or doxycycline was given to the majority of the children. Complications included meningoencephalitis (28%), shock (10%), retinal vasculitis (10%) and purpura fulminans (7%). These findings suggest that the burden of rickettsial infection among children in India is high, with a substantially high complication rate. Rickettsial-specific ELISA tests can help in early diagnosis and early institution of appropriate treatment that may prevent life-threatening complications.

  11. Optofluidic laser for dual-mode sensitive biomolecular detection with a large dynamic range

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Xiang; Oo, Maung Kyaw Khaing; Reddy, Karthik; Chen, Qiushu; Sun, Yuze; Fan, Xudong

    2014-04-01

    Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a powerful method for biomolecular analysis. The traditional ELISA employing light intensity as the sensing signal often encounters large background arising from non-specific bindings, material autofluorescence and leakage of excitation light, which deteriorates its detection limit and dynamic range. Here we develop the optofluidic laser-based ELISA, where ELISA occurs inside a laser cavity. The laser onset time is used as the sensing signal, which is inversely proportional to the enzyme concentration and hence the analyte concentration inside the cavity. We first elucidate the principle of the optofluidic laser-based ELISA, and then characterize the optofluidic laser performance. Finally, we present the dual-mode detection of interleukin-6 using commercial ELISA kits, where the sensing signals are simultaneously obtained by the traditional and the optofluidic laser-based ELISA, showing a detection limit of 1 fg ml-1 (38 aM) and a dynamic range of 6 orders of magnitude.

  12. Prevalence of dengue virus infection in US travelers who have lived in or traveled to dengue-endemic countries.

    PubMed

    Sanchez-Vegas, Carolina; Hamer, Davidson H; Chen, Lin H; Wilson, Mary E; Benoit, Christine; Hunsperger, Elizabeth; Macleod, William B; Jentes, Emily S; Ooi, Winnie W; Karchmer, Adolf W; Kogelman, Laura; Yanni, Emad; Marano, Nina; Barnett, Elizabeth D

    2013-01-01

    Dengue virus (DENV) infections may occur in travelers. To determine prevalence of anti-DENV IgG antibody in travelers who lived in or visited dengue-endemic countries and to describe risk factors and characteristics associated with infection and subsequent anti-DENV IgG antibody presence. Participants were enrolled from travel clinics of the Boston Area Travel Medicine Network from August 2008 through June 2009. Demographic information, trip duration, travel history, and a blood sample were collected. Serum samples were tested for anti-DENV IgG antibody by indirect IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and antibody-mediated virus neutralization by plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) for anti-DENV IgG antibody-positive and selected negative samples. Participants were stratified into group 1: born in dengue-endemic countries; group 2: born in nonendemic countries but lived continuously for ≥1 year in a dengue-endemic country; group 3: born in nonendemic countries and traveled to a dengue-endemic country for ≥2 weeks but <1 year. Six hundred travelers were enrolled. Anti-DENV IgG antibody was identified in 113 (19%) when tested by ELISA (51% in group 1, 40% in group 2, and 6.9% in group 3) and in 71 (12%) by PRNT (42% primary monotypic and 58% heterotypic reactive responses). Sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA based on PRNT results were 85% to 100% and 79% to 94%, assuming up to 15% misclassification of ELISA negative results. Presence of anti-DENV IgG antibody by ELISA was associated with years lived in dengue-endemic countries and birthplace in the Caribbean for group 1, receipt of Japanese encephalitis vaccine in group 3, and self-reported history of dengue in all three groups. Nineteen percent of participants who were born, lived in, or traveled to dengue-endemic countries had anti-DENV IgG antibody by ELISA; 12% had antibodies by PRNT, 85% of whom had no history of dengue. Presence of DENV antibodies was associated with years lived in dengue-endemic countries and self-reported history of dengue. © 2013 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  13. Detection of Fusarium verticillioides by PCR-ELISA based on FUM21 gene.

    PubMed

    Omori, Aline Myuki; Ono, Elisabete Yurie Sataque; Bordini, Jaqueline Gozzi; Hirozawa, Melissa Tiemi; Fungaro, Maria Helena Pelegrinelli; Ono, Mario Augusto

    2018-08-01

    Fusarium verticillioides is a primary corn pathogen and fumonisin producer which is associated with toxic effects in humans and animals. The traditional methods for detection of fungal contamination based on morphological characteristics are time-consuming and show low sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a PCR-ELISA based on the FUM21 gene for F. verticillioides detection. The DNA of the F. verticillioides, Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp. and Penicillium sp. isolates was analyzed by conventional PCR and PCR-ELISA to determine the specificity. The PCR-ELISA was specific to F. verticillioides isolates, showed a 2.5 pg detection limit and was 100-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR. In corn samples inoculated with F. verticillioides conidia, the detection limit of the PCR-ELISA was 1 × 10 4 conidia/g and was also 100-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR. Naturally contaminated corn samples were analyzed by PCR-ELISA based on the FUM21 gene and PCR-ELISA absorbance values correlated positively (p < 0.05) with Fusarium sp. counts (CFU/g). These results suggest that the PCR-ELISA developed in this study can be useful for F. verticillioides detection in corn samples. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. [Effect evaluation of three ELISA kits in detection of fasciolasis].

    PubMed

    Ai, Lin; Chen, Mu-Xin; Chen, Shao-Hong; Chu, Yan-Hong; Cai, Yu-Chun; Zhou, Xiao-Nong; Chen, Jia-Xu

    2013-04-01

    To evaluate the effect of 3 ELISA kits on detection of human fasciolasis. Twenty-six serum samples from patients with fasciolasis, 180 serum samples from patients with other parasitic diseases as well as 26 serum samples from healthy people were detected by ELISA kits which using soluble antigen of Fasciola gigantica, Fasciola hepatica (Fg-ELISA and Fh-ELISA) as well as IgG antigen ELISA detection kits made by DRG company in Germany. The effects of the 3 kits were evaluated. The sensitivities of Fg-ELISA, Fh-ELISA, and DRG-ELISA were 100.0%, 80.8% (95% CI: 65.7%-95.9%) and 100.0%, respectively; the specificities of the three were 87.9% (95% CI: 83.5%-92.4%), 85.0%(95% CI: 80.1%-89.9%) and 83.5% (95% CI: 78.4%-88.6%), respectively, and Youden indexes of them were 0.88, 0.66 and 0.84, respectively. The detection rate of Fg-ELISA (100%) was significantly higher than that of Fh-ELISA (80.8%) (P < 0.05). The A absolute value (A/CO) of Fg-ELISA was 1.70, which was also significantly higher than the value of Fh-ELISA (1.18) (P < 0.000 1). Fg-ELISA has a good detection effect and low cost, and is more suitable than Fh-ELISA and DRG-ELISA for clinical sample tests as well as massive screening in fasciolasis endemic areas in southwest China.

  15. 42 CFR 71.53 - Requirements for importers of nonhuman primates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... Trade in Endangered Species. ELISA means enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a type of laboratory test... serum for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to filovirus by using an ELISA methodology, or other method... for filovirus antigen by using the antigen-capture ELISA method must be submitted to a qualified...

  16. 42 CFR 71.53 - Requirements for importers of nonhuman primates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... Trade in Endangered Species. ELISA means enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, a type of laboratory test... serum for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to filovirus by using an ELISA methodology, or other method... for filovirus antigen by using the antigen-capture ELISA method must be submitted to a qualified...

  17. Evaluation of a recombinant LigB protein of Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the serodiagnosis of bovine leptospirosis.

    PubMed

    Sankar, Surya; Harshan, Hiron M; Somarajan, S R; Srivastava, S K

    2010-06-01

    A recombinant leptospiral lipoprotein, LigB, was evaluated for use in the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (rLigB IgG ELISA). The standard reference test (Microscopic agglutination test, MAT) of 200 serum samples from cattle suspected of leptospirosis showed that 95 (47.5%) samples had positive agglutination titres, which ranged from 100 to 1600. In rLigB IgG ELISA, 49% of the samples were positive. Sensitivity of IgG ELISA for 95 bovine sera, which had MAT titres of greater than or equal to 100, were 100%. ELISA showed a specificity of 97.1% with 105 bovine sera, which were negative at a 1:50 dilution in MAT for Leptospira interrogans serovars. The results of ELISA and MAT correspond very good. When analytical specificity of IgG ELISA was evaluated using bovine serum samples from animals showing the serum antibodies to other pathogens, no cross-reaction was observed. Thus the recombinant LigB IgG ELISA can be used instead of the MAT as an aid to the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis. Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier India Pvt Ltd.

  18. The Dutch Brucella abortus monitoring programme for cattle: the impact of false-positive serological reactions and comparison of serological tests.

    PubMed

    Emmerzaal, A; de Wit, J J; Dijkstra, Th; Bakker, D; van Zijderveld, F G

    2002-02-01

    The Dutch national Brucella abortus eradication programme for cattle started in 1959. Sporadic cases occurred yearly until 1995; the last infected herd was culled in 1996. In August 1999 the Netherlands was declared officially free of bovine brucellosis by the European Union. Before 1999, the programme to monitor the official Brucella-free status of bovine herds was primarily based on periodical testing of dairy herds with the milk ring test (MRT) and serological testing of all animals older than 1 year of age from non-dairy herds, using the micro-agglutination test (MAT) as screening test. In addition, serum samples of cattle that aborted were tested with the MAT. The high number of false positive reactions in both tests and the serum agglutination test (SAT) and complement fixation test (CFT) used for confirmation seemed to result in unnecessary blockade of herds, subsequent testing and slaughter of animals. For this reason, a validation study was performed in which three indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), the CFT and the SAT were compared using a panel of sera from brucellosis-free cattle, sera from experimentally infected cattle, and sera from cattle experimentally infected with bacteria which are known to induce cross-reactive antibodies (Pasteurella, Salmonella, Yersinia, and Escherichia). Moreover, four ELISAs and the MRT were compared using a panel of 1000 bulk milk samples from Brucella-free herds and 12 milk samples from Brucella abortus- infected cattle. It is concluded that the ELISA obtained from ID-Lelystad is the most suitable test to monitor the brucelosis free status of herds because it gives rise to fewer false-positive reactions than the SAT.

  19. Development and validation of an ELISA kit for the detection of ricin toxins from biological specimens and environmental samples.

    PubMed

    Chen, Hsiao Ying; Tran, Hung; Foo, Ling Yann; Sew, Tracey Wenhui; Loke, Weng Keong

    2014-08-01

    Ricin is a toxin that can be easily extracted from seeds of Ricinus communis plants. Ricin is considered to be a major bio-threat as it can be freely and easily acquired in large quantities. A deliberate release of such toxin in civilian populations would very likely overwhelm existing public health systems, resulting in public fear and social unrest. There is currently no commercially available or FDA-approved prophylaxis such as vaccines, or therapeutic antitoxins or antidotes, available for ricin intoxication. Patient treatment is typically supportive care based on symptoms, often designed to reinforce the body's natural response. This paper describes the development and validation of a robust ELISA test kit, which can be used to screen for ricin in biological specimens such as whole blood and faeces. Faecal specimens are shown in this study to have better diagnostic sensitivity and a wider diagnostic window compared to whole blood. From these results, it is concluded that faeces is the most suitable clinical specimen for diagnosis of ricin poisoning via the oral route. The ELISA test kit can also detect ricin in environmental samples. An advantage of this ELISA kit over other commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) detection kits currently on the market that are developed to screen environmental samples only is its ability to diagnose ricin poisoning from clinical specimens as well as detect ricin from environmental samples.

  20. Evaluation of performance of bacterial culture of feces and serum ELISA across stages of Johne's disease in cattle using a Bayesian latent class model.

    PubMed

    Espejo, L A; Zagmutt, F J; Groenendaal, H; Muñoz-Zanzi, C; Wells, S J

    2015-11-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of bacterial culture of feces and serum ELISA to correctly identify cows with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) at heavy, light, and non-fecal-shedding levels. A total of 29,785 parallel test results from bacterial culture of feces and serum ELISA were collected from 17 dairy herds in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Samples were obtained from adult cows from dairy herds enrolled for up to 10 yr in the National Johne's Disease Demonstration Herd Project. A Bayesian latent class model was fitted to estimate the probabilities that bacterial culture of feces (using 72-h sedimentation or 30-min centrifugation methods) and serum ELISA results correctly identified cows as high positive, low positive, or negative given that cows were heavy, light, and non-shedders, respectively. The model assumed that no gold standard test was available and conditional independency existed between diagnostic tests. The estimated conditional probabilities that bacterial culture of feces correctly identified heavy shedders, light shedders, and non-shedders were 70.9, 32.0, and 98.5%, respectively. The same values for the serum ELISA were 60.6, 18.7, and 99.5%, respectively. Differences in diagnostic test performance were observed among states. These results improve the interpretation of results from bacterial culture of feces and serum ELISA for detection of MAP and MAP antibody (respectively), which can support on-farm infection control decisions and can be used to evaluate disease-testing strategies, taking into account the accuracy of these tests. Copyright © 2015 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Antigen-Bound and Free β-Amyloid Autoantibodies in Serum of Healthy Adults

    PubMed Central

    Leirer, Vera Maria; von Arnim, Christine A. F.; Elbert, Thomas; Przybylski, Michael; Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana; Manea, Marilena

    2012-01-01

    Physiological β-amyloid autoantibodies (Aβ-autoantibodies) are currently investigated as potential diagnostic and therapeutic tools for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In previous studies, their determination in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using indirect ELISA has provided controversial results, which may be due to the presence of preformed Aβ antigen-antibody immune complexes. Based on the epitope specificity of the Aβ-autoantibodies, recently elucidated in our laboratory, we developed (a) a sandwich ELISA for the determination of circulating Aβ-IgG immune complexes and (b) an indirect ELISA for the determination of free Aβ-autoantibodies. This methodology was applied to the analysis of serum samples from healthy individuals within the age range of 18 to 89 years. Neuropsychological examination of the participants in this study indicated non-pathological, age-related cognitive decline, revealed especially by tests of visual memory and executive function, as well as speed-related tasks. The ELISA serum determinations showed significantly higher levels of Aβ-IgG immune complexes compared to free Aβ-autoantibodies, while no correlation with age or cognitive performance of the participants was found. PMID:22973459

  2. Mobile device for disease diagnosis and data tracking in resource-limited settings.

    PubMed

    Chin, Curtis D; Cheung, Yuk Kee; Laksanasopin, Tassaneewan; Modena, Mario M; Chin, Sau Yin; Sridhara, Archana A; Steinmiller, David; Linder, Vincent; Mushingantahe, Jules; Umviligihozo, Gisele; Karita, Etienne; Mwambarangwe, Lambert; Braunstein, Sarah L; van de Wijgert, Janneke; Sahabo, Ruben; Justman, Jessica E; El-Sadr, Wafaa; Sia, Samuel K

    2013-04-01

    Collection of epidemiological data and care of patients are hampered by lack of access to laboratory diagnostic equipment and patients' health records in resource-limited settings. We engineered a low-cost mobile device that combines cell-phone and satellite communication technologies with fluid miniaturization techniques for performing all essential ELISA functions. We assessed the device's ability to perform HIV serodiagnostic testing in Rwanda and synchronize results in real time with electronic health records. We tested serum, plasma, and whole blood samples collected in Rwanda and on a commercially available sample panel made of mixed antibody titers. HIV testing on 167 Rwandan patients evaluated for HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections yielded diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 99%, respectively. Testing on 40 Rwandan whole-blood samples-using 1 μL of sample per patient-resulted in diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 100%. The mobile device also successfully transmitted all whole-blood test results from a Rwandan clinic to a medical records database stored on the cloud. For all samples in the commercial panel, the device produced results in agreement with a leading ELISA test, including detection of weakly positive samples that were missed by existing rapid tests. The device operated autonomously with minimal user input, produced each result 10 times faster than benchtop ELISA, and consumed as little power as a mobile phone. A low-cost mobile device can perform a blood-based HIV serodiagnostic test with laboratory-level accuracy and real-time synchronization of patient health record data. © 2012 American Association for Clinical Chemistry

  3. HIT or miss? A comprehensive contemporary investigation of laboratory tests for heparin induced thrombocytopenia.

    PubMed

    Favaloro, Emmanuel J; McCaughan, Georgia; Mohammed, Soma; Lau, Kun Kan Edwin; Gemmell, Rosalie; Cavanaugh, Lauren; Donikian, Dea; Kondo, Mayuko; Brighton, Timothy; Pasalic, Leonardo

    2018-04-17

    Heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a rare but potentially fatal complication of heparin therapy, which in a proportion of patients causes platelet activation and thrombosis. Initial clinical assessment of the likelihood of HIT is facilitated by laboratory testing to confirm or exclude HIT. This prospective investigation was performed over an 18-month period, and has involved testing of over 300 test samples from over 100 consecutive patients. Clinical assessment by 4T score was supplemented by laboratory tests that comprised both immunological [lateral flow ('STiC'), chemiluminescence (AcuStar; HIT-IgG (PF4-H) ), ELISA (Asserachrom HPIA IgG)] and functional assays [SRA, platelet aggregation using whole blood ('Multiplate') and platelet rich plasma ('LTA')]. We observed both false positive and false negative test findings with most assays. Overall, the whole blood aggregation method provided a reasonable alternative to SRA for identifying functional HIT. STiC, AcuStar and ELISA procedures were fairly comparable in terms of screening for HIT, although STiC and AcuStar both yielded false negatives, albeit also resulting in fewer false positives than ELISA. The 4T score had less utility in our patient cohort than we were expecting, although there was an association with the likelihood of HIT. Nevertheless, we accept that our observations are based on limited test numbers. In conclusion, no single approach (clinical or laboratory) was associated with optimal sensitivity or specificity of HIT exclusion or identification, and thus, a combination of clinical evaluation and laboratory testing will best ensure the accuracy of diagnosis. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Prevalence of antibodies to bluetongue virus and Anaplasma marginale in Montana yearling in Montana yearling cattle entering Alberta feedlots: Fall 2001

    PubMed Central

    2004-01-01

    Abstract A serologic survey was conducted in yearling cattle imported into Alberta feedlots from Montana during October 2001 to estimate the prevalence of antibodies to bluetongue virus (BTV) and Anaplasma marginale in Montana yearling cattle. The apparent prevalence of antibodies to BTV when the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) was used was 0.37% (21/5608). Test positive cELISA samples were also all positive when tested by virus neutralization (VN) and they reacted to 1 or more BTV serotypes, including 2, 10, 11, 13, and 17. The apparent prevalence of antibodies to A. marginale when a recombinant cELISA (rcELISA) was used with a positive cutoff at 30% inhibition was 1.93% (108/5608). When the rcELISA positive cutoff was at 42% inhibition, the apparent prevalence was 0.73% (41/5608). After the reported sensitivity and specificity of the test had been accounted for, the A. marginale antibody results were consistent with a population that was either free of exposure or had a very low prevalence for A. marginale. PMID:15283518

  5. Interpretations of Antibody Responses to Salmonella enterica Serotype Enteritidis gm Flagellin in Poultry Flocks Are Enhanced by a Kinetics-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

    PubMed Central

    McDonough, Patrick L.; Jacobson, Richard H.; Timoney, John F.; Mutalib, Ahmed; Kradel, David C.; Chang, Yung-fu; Shin, Sang J.; Lein, Donald H.; Trock, Susan; Wheeler, Kaye

    1998-01-01

    Many regulatory and diagnostic programs for the detection of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis infection in commercial poultry flocks have relied on rapid Pullorum agglutination tests to screen birds because of the shared antigens of S. enterica Enteritidis and S. enterica Pullorum and Gallinarum; however, the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format affords better analytical sensitivity than crude agglutination tests. In this study, we adapted our earlier conventional indirect ELISA, using gm flagellin as the antigen, to a kinetics-based, computer-controlled ELISA (KELA). The KELA was used to screen for flagellin antibody from three commercial flocks: (i) a large flock involved in a U.S. Department of Agriculture trace back from a human S. enterica Enteritidis foodborne outbreak (n = 3,209), (ii) a flock infected with the endemic S. enterica Enteritidis serotype but which also had multiple other salmonella serotypes (n = 65), and (iii) an S. enterica Pullorum-infected flock (n = 12). The first flock (S. enterica Enteritidis prevalence of 2.45% based on culture) provided a field test of the KELA and allowed the calculation of diagnostic sensitivity (D-Sn) and diagnostic specificity (D-Sp). With a cutoff of 10 (used for screening flocks [i.e., high sensitivity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 95.2% and a D-Sp of 18.5%; with a cutoff of 140 (used in confirmatory flock testing [i.e., high specificity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 28.0% and a D-Sp of 99.1%. We found that with a cutoff of 60 (D-Sn = 63.1%; D-Sp = 91.6%), we could eliminate reactions in the KELA caused by other non-S. enterica Enteritidis salmonellae. The KELA was also compared to two commercial rapid Pullorum tests, the Solvay (D-Sn = 94.9%; D-Sp = 55.5%) and the Vineland (D-Sn = 62.0%; D-Sp = 75.3%). PMID:9665965

  6. Interpretations of antibody responses to Salmonella enterica serotype enteritidis gm flagellin in poultry flocks are enhanced by a kinetics-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

    PubMed

    McDonough, P L; Jacobson, R H; Timoney, J F; Mutalib, A; Kradel, D C; Chang, Y F; Shin, S J; Lein, D H; Trock, S; Wheeler, K

    1998-07-01

    Many regulatory and diagnostic programs for the detection of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis infection in commercial poultry flocks have relied on rapid Pullorum agglutination tests to screen birds because of the shared antigens of S. enterica Enteritidis and S. enterica Pullorum and Gallinarum; however, the use of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) format affords better analytical sensitivity than crude agglutination tests. In this study, we adapted our earlier conventional indirect ELISA, using gm flagellin as the antigen, to a kinetics-based, computer-controlled ELISA (KELA). The KELA was used to screen for flagellin antibody from three commercial flocks: (i) a large flock involved in a U.S. Department of Agriculture trace back from a human S. enterica Enteritidis foodborne outbreak (n = 3,209), (ii) a flock infected with the endemic S. enterica Enteritidis serotype but which also had multiple other Salmonella serotypes (n = 65), and (iii) an S. enterica Pullorum-infected flock (n = 12). The first flock (S. enterica Enteritidis prevalence of 2.45% based on culture) provided a field test of the KELA and allowed the calculation of diagnostic sensitivity (D-Sn) and diagnostic specificity (D-Sp). With a cutoff of 10 (used for screening flocks [i.e., high sensitivity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 95.2% and a D-Sp of 18.5%; with a cutoff of 140 (used in confirmatory flock testing [i.e., high specificity]), the KELA has a D-Sn of 28.0% and a D-Sp of 99.1%. We found that with a cutoff of 60 (D-Sn = 63.1%; D-Sp = 91.6%), we could eliminate reactions in the KELA caused by other non-S. enterica Enteritidis salmonellae. The KELA was also compared to two commercial rapid Pullorum tests, the Solvay (D-Sn = 94.9%; D-Sp = 55.5%) and the Vineland (D-Sn = 62.0%; D-Sp = 75.3%).

  7. Constraining early and interacting dark energy with gravitational wave standard sirens: the potential of the eLISA mission

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Caprini, Chiara; Tamanini, Nicola, E-mail: chiara.caprini@cea.fr, E-mail: nicola.tamanini@cea.fr

    We perform a forecast analysis of the capability of the eLISA space-based interferometer to constrain models of early and interacting dark energy using gravitational wave standard sirens. We employ simulated catalogues of standard sirens given by merging massive black hole binaries visible by eLISA, with an electromagnetic counterpart detectable by future telescopes. We consider three-arms mission designs with arm length of 1, 2 and 5 million km, 5 years of mission duration and the best-level low frequency noise as recently tested by the LISA Pathfinder. Standard sirens with eLISA give access to an intermediate range of redshift 1 ∼< zmore » ∼< 8, and can therefore provide competitive constraints on models where the onset of the deviation from ΛCDM (i.e. the epoch when early dark energy starts to be non-negligible, or when the interaction with dark matter begins) occurs relatively late, at z ∼< 6. If instead early or interacting dark energy is relevant already in the pre-recombination era, current cosmological probes (especially the cosmic microwave background) are more efficient than eLISA in constraining these models, except possibly in the interacting dark energy model if the energy exchange is proportional to the energy density of dark energy.« less

  8. Bovine herpesvirus 1: within-herd seroprevalence and antibody levels in bulk-tank milk.

    PubMed

    Martínez, S; Yus, E; Sanjuán, M L; Camino, F; Eiras, M C; Arnaiz, I; Diéguez, F J

    2016-12-01

    The aim of the present study was to establish a relationship between the results obtained with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique for antibodies (against bovine herpesvirus 1) in serum and those in milk at the herd level. For this purpose, 275 samples of bulk-tank milk were analysed with glycoprotein E (gE) antibody ELISA and 207 more were analysed with glycoprotein B (gB) antibody ELISA (482 in total). All of these samples came from dairy herds whose seroprevalence was also evaluated. The results of this study were then used to analyse the sensitivity of the bulk-tankmilk test in detecting herds with a high risk of active infection (>60% seroprevalence) and its specificity in detecting those with few (<20%) or no seropositive animals. In regard to the reference test (results in blood serum), the sensitivity of the bulk-tankmilk test in detecting herds with >60% seropositive animals was 100% for both gE and gB ELISAs. The specificity figures, for gE and gB ELISAs, respectively, were 88.4% and 99.1% for infection-free herds and 72.6% and 96% for herds with <20% seroprevalence. In a quantitative approach, Pearson's correlation coefficients, reported as a measure of linear association between herd seroprevalences and transformed optical density values recorded in bulk-tank milk, were -0.63 for gE ELISA and 0.67 for gB ELISA. © OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), 2016.

  9. Comparison of DOT-ELISA and Standard-ELISA for Detection of the Vibrio cholerae Toxin in Culture Supernatants of Bacteria Isolated from Human and Environmental Samples.

    PubMed

    Meza-Lucas, Antonio; Pérez-Villagómez, María-Fernanda; Martínez-López, José-Patricio; García-Rodea, Ricardo; Martínez-Castelán, María-Guadalupe; Escobar-Gutiérrez, Alejandro; de-la-Rosa-Arana, Jorge-Luis; Villanueva-Zamudio, Altagracia

    2016-09-01

    A comparison of DOT-ELISA and Standard-ELISA was made for detection of Vibrio cholerae toxin in culture supernatants of bacteria isolated from human and environmental samples. A total of 293 supernatants were tested in a double blind assay. A correlation of 100 % was obtained between both techniques. The cholera toxin was found in 20 Inaba and 3 Ogawa strains. Positive samples were from seafood (17 samples), potable water (1 sample) and sewage (5 samples). The DOT-ELISA was useful as the standard-ELISA to confirm the presence of cholera toxin in the environmental samples.

  10. Comparison of analytical methods for the determination of histamine in reference canned fish samples

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jakšić, S.; Baloš, M. Ž.; Mihaljev, Ž.; Prodanov Radulović, J.; Nešić, K.

    2017-09-01

    Two screening methods for histamine in canned fish, an enzymatic test and a competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CD-ELISA), were compared with the reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) standard method. For enzymatic and CD-ELISA methods, determination was conducted according to producers’ manuals. For RP-HPLC, histamine was derivatized with dansyl-chloride, followed by RP-HPLC and diode array detection. Results of analysis of canned fish, supplied as reference samples for proficiency testing, showed good agreement when histamine was present at higher concentrations (above 100 mg kg-1). At a lower level (16.95 mg kg-1), the enzymatic test produced some higher results. Generally, analysis of four reference samples according to CD-ELISA and RP-HPLC showed good agreement for histamine determination (r=0.977 in concentration range 16.95-216 mg kg-1) The results show that the applied enzymatic test and CD-ELISA appeared to be suitable screening methods for the determination of histamine in canned fish.

  11. Enhancement of Human Antigen-Specific Memory T-Cell Responses by Interleukin-7 May Improve Accuracy in Diagnosing Tuberculosis▿ †

    PubMed Central

    Feske, Marsha; Nudelman, Rodolfo J.; Medina, Miguel; Lew, Justin; Singh, Manisha; Couturier, Jacob; Graviss, Edward A.; Lewis, Dorothy E.

    2008-01-01

    Children and immunocompromised adults are at an increased risk of tuberculosis (TB), but diagnosis is more challenging. Recently developed gamma interferon (IFN-γ) release assays provide increased sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of latent TB, but their use is not FDA approved in immunocompromised or pediatric populations. Both populations have reduced numbers of T cells, which are major producers of IFN-γ. Interleukin 7 (IL-7), a survival cytokine, stabilizes IFN-γ message and increases protein production. IL-7 was added to antigen-stimulated lymphocytes to improve IFN-γ responses as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. Antigens used were tetanus toxoid (n = 10), p24 (from human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], n = 9), and TB peptides (n = 15). Keyhole limpet hemocyanin was used as a negative control, and phytohemagglutinin was the positive control. IL-7 improved antigen-specific responses to all antigens tested including tetanus toxoid, HIV type 1 p24, and TB peptides (ESAT-6 and CFP-10) with up to a 14-fold increase (mean = 3.8), as measured by ELISA. Increased IFN-γ responses from controls, HIV-positive patients, and TB patients were statistically significant, with P values of <0.05, 0.01, and 0.05, respectively. ELISPOT assay results confirmed ELISA findings (P values of <0.01, 0.02, and 0.03, respectively), with a strong correlation between the two tests (R2 = 0.82 to 0.99). Based on average background levels, IL-7 increased detection of IFN-γ by 39% compared to the level with antigen alone. Increased production of IFN-γ induced by IL-7 improves sensitivity of ELISA and ELISPOT assays for all antigens tested. Further enhancement of IFN-γ-based assays might improve TB diagnosis in those populations at highest risk for TB. PMID:18753334

  12. Field detection capability of immunochemical assays during criminal investigations involving the use of TNT.

    PubMed

    Romolo, Francesco Saverio; Ferri, Elida; Mirasoli, Mara; D'Elia, Marcello; Ripani, Luigi; Peluso, Giuseppe; Risoluti, Roberta; Maiolini, Elisabetta; Girotti, Stefano

    2015-01-01

    The capability to collect timely information about the substances employed on-site at a crime scene is of fundamental importance during scientific investigations in crimes involving the use of explosives. TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) is one of the most employed explosives in the 20th century. Despite the growing use of improvised explosives, criminal use and access to TNT is not expected to decrease. Immunoassays are simple and selective analytical tests able to detect molecules and their immunoreactions can occur in portable formats for use on-site. This work demonstrates the application of three immunochemical assays capable of detecting TNT to typical forensic samples from experimental tests: an indirect competitive ELISA with chemiluminescent detection (CL-ELISA), a colorimetric lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) based on colloidal gold nanoparticles label, and a chemiluminescent-LFIA (CL-LFIA). Under optimised working conditions, the LOD of the colorimetric LFIA and CL-LFIA were 1 μg mL(-1) and 0.05 μg mL(-1), respectively. The total analysis time for LFIAs was 15 min. ELISA proved to be a very effective laboratory approach, showing very good sensitivity (LOD of 0.4 ng mL(-1)) and good reproducibility (CV value about 7%). Samples tested included various materials involved in controlled explosions of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as well as hand swabs collected after TNT handling tests. In the first group of tests, targets covered with six different materials (metal, plastic, cardboard, carpet fabric, wood and adhesive tape) were fixed on top of wooden poles (180 cm high). Samples of soil from the explosion area and different materials covering the targets were collected after each explosion and analysed. In the second group of tests, hand swabs were collected with and without hand washing after volunteers simulated the manipulation of small charges of TNT. The small amount of solution required for each assay allows for several analyses. Results of immunoassays confirmed that they were suitable to detect post-blast residues in soil and target materials and post transfer residues on hands, allowing further confirmation by more selective techniques. ELISA and LFIAs results obtained from the same solution were consistently in good agreement, and were confirmed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The reported immunoassays data demonstrates the suitability of LFIAs as on-site rapid and effective assays to detect TNT traces. The CL-ELISA proved useful in obtaining very sensitive detection in forensic investigations and testing, while CL-LFIA had performances in between LFIA and CL-ELISA. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Selecting accurate post-elimination monitoring tools to prevent reemergence of urogenital schistosomiasis in Morocco: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Balahbib, Abdelaali; Amarir, Fatima; Corstjens, Paul L A M; de Dood, Claudia J; van Dam, Govert J; Hajli, Amina; Belhaddad, Meryem; El Mansouri, Bouchra; Sadak, Abderrahim; Rhajaoui, Mohamed; Adlaoui, El Bachir

    2017-04-06

    After alleged stop of transmission of schistosomiasis and further down the line in post elimination settings, sensitive tools are required to monitor infection status to prevent potential re-emergence. In Rahala, where transmission cycle of Schistosoma haematobium is interrupted since 2004 but where 30% of snails are still infected by S. bovis, potential human S. bovis infection can't be excluded. As methods based on egg-counts do not provide the required sensitivity, antibody or antigen assays are envisaged as the most appropriate tools for this type of monitoring. In this pilot study, the performances of three assays were compared: two commercially available antibody tests (ELISA and haemagglutination format) indicating exposure, and an antigen test (lateral flow strip format) demonstrating active infection. All 37 recruited study participants resided in Rahala (Akka, province Tata, Morocco). Participants had been diagnosed and cured from schistosomiasis in the period between 1983 and 2003. In 2015 these asymptomatic participants provided fresh clinical samples (blood and urine) for analysis with the aforementioned diagnostics tests. No eggs were identified in the urine of the 37 participants. The haemagglutination test indicated 6 antibody positives whereas the ELISA indicated 28 antibody positives, one indecisive and one false positive. ELISA and haemagglutination results matched for 18 individuals, amongst which 5 out of 6 haemagglutination positives. With the antigen test (performed on paired serum and urine samples), serum from two participants (cured 21 and 32 years ago) indicated the presence of low levels of the highly specific Schistosoma circulating anodic antigen (CAA), demonstrating low worm level infections (less than 5 pg/ml corresponding to probably single worm pair). One tested also CAA positive with urine. ELISA indicated the presence of human anti-Schistosoma antibodies in these two CAA positive cases, haemagglutination results were negative. To prevent reemergence of schistosomiasis in Morocco current monitoring programs require specific protocols that include testing of antibody positives for active infection by the UCP-LF CAA test, the appropriate diagnostic tool to identify Schistosoma low grade infections in travelers, immigrants and assumed cured cases. The test is genus specific will also identify infections related to S. bovis.

  14. Molecular detection of genotype II grass carp reovirus based on nucleic acid sequence-based amplification combined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (NASBA-ELISA).

    PubMed

    Zeng, Weiwei; Yao, Wei; Wang, Yingying; Li, Yingying; Bermann, Sven M; Ren, Yan; Shi, Cunbin; Song, Xinjian; Huang, Qiwen; Zheng, Shuchen; Wang, Qing

    2017-05-01

    Grass carp reovirus (GCRV) is the causative agent of the grass carp hemorrhagic disease that has resulted in severe economic losses in the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) farming industry in China. Early diagnosis and vaccine administration are important priorities for GCRV control. In this study, a nucleic acid sequence-based amplification with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (NASBA-ELISA) was developed for to detect genotype II GCRV (GCRV- II). Primers specifically targeting viral RNA genome segment 6 were utilized for amplification in an isothermal digoxigenin-labeling NASBA process, resulting in DIG-labeled RNA amplicons. The amplicons were hybridized to specific biotinylated DNA probes and the products were detected colorimetrically using horseradish peroxidase and a microplate reader. The new method is able to detect GCRV at 14 copies/μL within 5h and had a diagnostic sensitivity and a specificity of 100% when GCRV-II and non-target virus were tested. This NASBA-ELISA was evaluated using a panel of clinical samples (n=103) to demonstrate that it is a rapid, effective and sensitive method for GCRV detection in grass carp aquaculture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Development of a colloidal gold immunochromatographic strip based on HSP70 for the rapid detection of Echinococcus granulosus in sheep.

    PubMed

    Zhuo, Xunhui; Yu, Yingchao; Chen, Xueqiu; Zhang, Zhuangzhi; Yang, Yi; Du, Aifang

    2017-06-15

    Echinococcus granulosus is the causative pathogen of cystic echinococcosis, a serious disease endangering human and animal health. In this study, an immunochromatographic strip was developed based on the recombinant protein Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) for the serological detection of E. granulosus. The protocol completes within 20min requiring no specialized equipment or chemical reagents, while specificity tests confirmed no cross-reactivity with positive serum of Fasciola hepatica, Haemonchus contortus, Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) and Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). The strips remained stable after storage at 4°C for up to 8 months. Both immunochromatographic strip and ELISA tests were applied to detect E. granulosus antibody in a total of 728 serum samples obtained from slaughter houses in Zhejiang Province. Our data revealed positive rates of 2.61 and 1.65% by immunochromatographic strip and ELISA methods, respectively. The immunochromatographic strip test developed in this study provides a simple, specific and rapid method of E. granulosus antibody detection and infected sheep monitoring. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Design of Indigenous ELISA Using Tachyzoites from the RH Strain of Toxoplasma gondii and Comparison with Commercial Kits in Ahvaz, Southwest of Iran, 2015.

    PubMed

    Mohammadpour, Niloofar; Saki, Jasem; Rafiei, Abdollah; Khodadadi, Ali; Tavalla, Mehdi; Cheraghian, Bahman

    2016-10-01

    Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common causes of latent infections in humans worldwide. Detecting anti- Toxoplasma antibodies in serum using serological tests is a common method to diagnose toxoplasmosis. In the present study, an indigenous ELISA kit was prepared using tachyzoites from the RH strain of T. gondii , and its sensitivity and specificity were compared with those of commercial kits. To produce antigens, 0.02 mL of locally isolated T. gondii RH strain parasites along with 10 9 tachyzoites were injected into the peritoneal cavities of 50 laboratory mice (BALB/C). Parasites were collected after 4 days. After filtering and washing, the concentration of protein in sonicated tachyzoites was calculated using the Lowry protein assay. The dilution of antigen, serum and alkaline phosphatase conjugate was assessed in designing an indigenous ELISA method; then ELISA was performed based on these dilutions, and its sensitivity was determined using 200 serum samples. In addition, the specificity of the assay was evaluated using 40 serum samples from patients with tuberculosis, leukemia or hydatid cyst. Indigenous ELISA was used to examine 100 serum samples containing anti- T. gondii IgG, with a sensitivity of 98% (commercial kits: 100%). Another 100 serum samples containing anti- T. gondii IgM were also tested, with a sensitivity of 99% (commercial kits: 100%). When 40 serum samples from patients with leukemia, hydatid cyst or tuberculosis were examined using anti- T. gondii IgG, the specificity was 100%, identical to commercial kits. However, the specificity of a similar test with anti- T. gondii IgM was just 28.6% for serum samples from leukemia patients, 21.4% for hydatid cyst and 16.7% for tuberculosis. We found that purified locally isolated soluble crude antigens of the RH strain of T. gondii from the peritoneal cavity of mice may be one of the most promising antigens for detection of human toxoplasmosis in routine screening.

  17. Quantification of Histidine-Rich Protein 3 of Plasmodium falciparum.

    PubMed

    Palani, Balraj

    2018-04-01

    Malaria is a life-threatening infectious disease and continues to be a major public health crisis in many parts of the tropical world. Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for the majority of mortality and morbidity associated with malaria. During the intraerythrocytic cycle, P. falciparum releases three proteins with high histidine content as follows: histidine-rich protein 1 (HRP1), histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2), and histidine-rich protein 3 (HRP3). Currently, most of the diagnostic tests of P. falciparum infection target HRP2, and a number of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against HRP2 have been developed for use in HRP2 detection and quantification. When parasites have HRP2 deletions, the detection of HRP3 could augment the sensitivity of the detection system. The combination of both HRP2 and HRP3 mAbs in the detection system will enhance the test sensitivity. In the HRP quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), both HRP2 and HRP3 contribute to the result, but the relative contribution of HRP2 and HRP3 was unable to investigate, because of the nonavailability of HRP3 specific antibody ELISA. Hence an ELISA test system based on HRP3 is also essential for detection and quantification. There is not much documented in the literature on HRP3 antigen and HRP3 specific mAbs and polyclonal antibodies (pAbs). In the present study, recombinant HRP3 was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified with Ni-NTA agarose column. The purified rHRP3 was used for the generation and characterization of monoclonal and pAbs. The purification of monoclonal and pAbs was done using a mixed-mode chromatography sorbent, phenylpropylamine HyperCel™. With the purified antibodies, a sandwich ELISA was developed. The sandwich ELISA method was explored to detect and quantify HRP3 of P. falciparum in the spent medium. The generated mAbs could be potentially used for the detection and quantification of P. falciparum HRP3.

  18. Evaluation of a commercial ELISA kit for detection of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in serum, plasma and meat juice from experimentally and naturally infected sheep

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common food borne zoonoses worldwide, and can be a serious life-threatening disease in the congenitally infected fetus and in immunosupressed patients. Among food animals, sheep along with goats and pigs possess the highest incidence of T. gondii cysts in meat, and play a major role as a source of human infection. Methods In this study, a new commercial ELISA kit (PrioCHECK® Toxoplasma Ab SR, Prionics Schlieren-Zurich, Switzerland) for the detection of anti-T. gondii antibodies in serum, plasma and meat juice of sheep, was evaluated by comparing it with the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), indirect haemagglutination test (IHA) and real-time PCR, on samples from experimentally inoculated and naturally exposed sheep. Results The commercial ELISA detected the infection status in 50% and 100% of sheep orally inoculated with 10,000 T. gondii oocysts (n = 6), from two or three weeks post infection (wpi), respectively, both on serum and plasma samples. Meat juice from all experimentally inoculated sheep collected at slaughter (12 wpi) showed positive ELISA values. In naturally exposed sheep (n = 396), the ELISA showed a very good agreement with IFAT (kappa = 0.91-1.0) and IHA (kappa = 0.96-1.0) performed on serum; and a positive correlation was observed between ELISA values and IFAT titers. By a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve analysis, the commercial ELISA had relative sensitivities between 93.33% and 100%, and relative specificities between 96.87% and 100% respect to IFAT and IHA, depending on the considered cut-off value and animal groups tested. Furthermore, the ELISA correctly recognized all animals reacting positive in real-time PCR. The ELISA results on meat juice agreed with those on serum samples in all experimentally inoculated animals, and in 94 out of 96 (97.9%) naturally exposed sheep, when meat juice was tested at a 1:10 dilution. Conclusion The commercial ELISA kit evaluated in this study could represent a valuable tool to improve the surveillance and reporting system for T. gondii in sheep populations at the farm level or for diagnosis at the slaughterhouse, contributing to the control of this widespread zoonosis. PMID:23561035

  19. Serological diagnosis of pneumocystosis: production of a synthetic recombinant antigen for immunodetection of Pneumocystis jirovecii.

    PubMed

    Tomás, A L; Cardoso, F; Esteves, F; Matos, O

    2016-11-08

    Diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) relies on the detection of P. jirovecii in respiratory specimens obtained by invasive techniques. Thus, the development of a serological test is urgently needed as it will allow the diagnosis of PcP using blood, an inexpensive and non-invasive specimen. This study aims to combine the production of a multi-epitope synthetic recombinant antigen (RSA) and an ELISA test for detection of anti-P. jirovecii antibodies, in order to develop a new approach for PcP diagnosis. The RSA was selected and designed based on the study of the immunogenicity of the carboxyl-terminal domain of the major surface glycoprotein. This antigen was purified and used as an antigenic tool in an ELISA technique for detection of Ig, IgG and IgM antibodies anti-P. jirovecii (patent-pending no. PT109078). Serum specimens from 88 patients previously categorized in distinct clinical subgroups and 17 blood donors, were analysed. The IgM anti-P. jirovecii levels were statistically increased in patients with PcP (p = 0.001) and the ELISA IgM anti-P. jirovecii test presented a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 80.8%, when associated with the clinical diagnosis criteria. This innovative approach, provides good insights about what can be done in the future serum testing for PcP diagnosis.

  20. Serological diagnosis of pneumocystosis: production of a synthetic recombinant antigen for immunodetection of Pneumocystis jirovecii

    PubMed Central

    Tomás, A. L.; Cardoso, F.; Esteves, F.; Matos, O.

    2016-01-01

    Diagnosis of Pneumocystis pneumonia (PcP) relies on the detection of P. jirovecii in respiratory specimens obtained by invasive techniques. Thus, the development of a serological test is urgently needed as it will allow the diagnosis of PcP using blood, an inexpensive and non-invasive specimen. This study aims to combine the production of a multi-epitope synthetic recombinant antigen (RSA) and an ELISA test for detection of anti-P. jirovecii antibodies, in order to develop a new approach for PcP diagnosis. The RSA was selected and designed based on the study of the immunogenicity of the carboxyl-terminal domain of the major surface glycoprotein. This antigen was purified and used as an antigenic tool in an ELISA technique for detection of Ig, IgG and IgM antibodies anti-P. jirovecii (patent-pending no. PT109078). Serum specimens from 88 patients previously categorized in distinct clinical subgroups and 17 blood donors, were analysed. The IgM anti-P. jirovecii levels were statistically increased in patients with PcP (p = 0.001) and the ELISA IgM anti-P. jirovecii test presented a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 80.8%, when associated with the clinical diagnosis criteria. This innovative approach, provides good insights about what can be done in the future serum testing for PcP diagnosis. PMID:27824115

  1. Comparison of the membrane-filtration fluorescent antibody test, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the polymerase chain reaction to detect Renibacterium salmoninarum in salmon ovarian fluid

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Pascho, Ronald J.; Chase, Dorothy M.; McKibben, Constance L.

    1998-01-01

    Ovarian fluid samples from naturally infected chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were examined for the presence of Renibacterium salmoninarum by the membrane-filtration fluorescent antibody test (MF-FAT), an antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). On the basis of the MF-FAT, 64% (66/103) samples contained detectable levels of R. salmoninarum cells. Among the positive fish, the R. salmoninarum concentrations ranged from 25 cells/ml to 4.3 × 109cells/ml. A soluble antigenic fraction of R. salmoninarum was detected in 39% of the fish (40/103) by the ELISA. The ELISA is considered one of the most sensitive detection methods for bacterial kidney disease in tissues, yet it did not detect R. salmoninarum antigen consistently at bacterial cell concentrations below about 1.3 × 104cells/ml according to the MF-FAT counts. When total DNA was extracted and tested in a nested PCR designed to amplify a 320-base-pair region of the gene encoding a soluble 57-kD protein of R. salmoninarum, 100% of the 100 samples tested were positive. The results provided strong evidence that R. salmoninarum may be present in ovarian fluids thought to be free of the bacterium on the basis of standard diagnostic methods.

  2. Development of an Indirect ELISA for Serological Diagnosis of Bovine herpesvirus 5

    PubMed Central

    Campos, Fabrício S.; da Rosa, Matheus C.; Finger, Paula F.; de Oliveira, Patricia D.; Conceição, Fabricio R.; Fischer, Geferson; Roehe, Paulo M.; Leite, Fábio P. L.

    2016-01-01

    Bovine herpesviruses 1 and 5 (BoHV-1 and BoHV-5) are economically important pathogens, associated with a variety of clinical syndromes, including respiratory and genital disease, reproductive failure and meningoencephalitis. The standard serological assay to diagnose BoHV-1 and BoHV-5 infections is the virus neutralization test (VNT), a time consuming procedure that requires manipulation of infectious virus. In the present study a highly sensitive and specific single dilution indirect ELISA was developed using recombinant glycoprotein D from BoHV-5 as antigen (rgD5ELISA). Bovine serum samples (n = 450) were screened by VNT against BoHV-5a and by rgD5ELISA. Compared with the VNT, the rgD5ELISA demonstrated accuracy of 99.8%, with 100% sensitivity, 96.7% specificity and coefficient of agreement between the tests of 0.954. The rgD5ELISA described here shows excellent agreement with the VNT and is shown to be a simple, convenient, specific and highly sensitive virus-free assay for detection of serum antibodies to BoHV-5. PMID:26866923

  3. Survey of Florida green turtles for exposure to a disease-associated herpesvirus.

    PubMed

    Coberley, S S; Herbst, L H; Ehrhart, L M; Bagley, D A; Hirama, S; Jacobson, E R; Klein, P A

    2001-12-05

    A recently developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to assess exposure of Florida wild green turtles Chelonia mydas to LETV, the herpesvirus associated with lung-eye-trachea disease (LETD). Plasma samples from 329 wild juvenile green turtles netted in the Indian River lagoon, along the Sebastian reef, or in the Trident basin (Indian River and Brevard Counties, Florida) were tested by ELISA for the presence of antibodies to LETV. Plasma samples from 180 wild juvenile green turtles were tested from these study sites to compare the prevalence of anti-LETV antibodies. While some plasma samples from each site contained anti-LETV antibodies (confirmed by Western blot analysis), plasma samples collected from the Indian River lagoon had statistically higher optical density values measured in the ELISA. No statistical differences were observed when these same plasma samples were analyzed for changes in the level of anti-LETV antibodies over 3 years (1997, 1998, and 1999). To explore the relationship between anti-LETV antibodies and fibropapillomatosis (FP), plasma from 133 green turtles scored for fibropapilloma tumor severity were tested by ELISA. There was no correlation between tumor severity and the presence of antibodies against LETV. Additional plasma samples collected from 16 tagged green turtles captured and sampled more than once (recaptures) were also tested to monitor antibody levels to LETV relative to the FP status of individual turtles over time. Again there was no clear relationship between FP tumor status and the presence of antibodies to LETV. Finally, ELISA tests on plasma from 13 nesting female turtles (9 green and 4 loggerhead) revealed high levels of anti-LETV antibodies in 11 individuals, including 2 loggerhead turtles. These results provide strong evidence that wild Florida green turtle populations at these 3 study sites are exposed to LETV or a closely related virus and that loggerhead turtles may be exposed as well. Based on a cutoff optical density value of 0.310, 71 out of the 329 wild Florida green turtles tested were seropositive for LETV antibodies (seroprevalence = 21.6%). In addition, no relationship between FP tumor severity or status and the presence of anti-LETV antibodies was found, further supporting the hypothesis that LETV and the FP-associated herpesvirus (FPHV) are separate infections of marine turtles.

  4. Comparison of a New and Rapid Method: Brucella Coombs Gel Test With Other Diagnostic Tests.

    PubMed

    Kalem, Fatma; Ergün, Ayşe Gül; Durmaz, Süleyman; Doğan, Metin; Ertuğrul, Ömür; Gündem, Seval

    2016-09-01

    The aim of this study was to detect reliability of Brucella Coombs gel test (BCGT) by comparing with with ELISA (IgG + IgM), Standard agglutination test, and Brucella immunocapture agglutination methods in serological diagnosis of brucellosis. Brucella Coombs gel test (BCGT), Brucella ELISA (IgG + IgM), Standard agglutination test, and Brucella immunocapture agglutination tests of 78 patients with presumptive diagnosis of brucellosis which were sent to Microbiology Laboratory of Konya Numune Hospital from various regions of Konya were studied. Of 78 patients with ELISA IgG and IgM, STA, BICA and BCGT; 26, 21, 10, 12 and 12 were positive. When compared with BICA, the sensitivity and specifity of BCGT were 100% and 100%, respectively. According to results BCGT can be used as a diagnostic test in routine laboratories after more comprehensive studies in control groups and patients. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Sensitive and specific detection of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV)—Specific IgM and IgG antibodies in human sera using recombinant CCHFV nucleoprotein as antigen in μ-capture and IgG immune complex (IC) ELISA tests

    PubMed Central

    Emmerich, Petra; Mika, Angela; von Possel, Ronald; Rackow, Anne; Liu, Yang; Schmitz, Herbert; Sherifi, Kurtesh; Halili, Barie; Jakupi, Xhevat; Berisha, Lindita; Ahmeti, Salih

    2018-01-01

    As the most widespread tick-borne arbovirus causing infections in numerous countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Virus (CCHFV, family Nairoviridae) was included in the WHO priority list of emerging pathogens needing urgent Research & Development attention. To ensure preparedness for potential future outbreak scenarios, reliable diagnostic tools for identification of acute cases as well as for performance of seroprevalence studies are necessary. Here, the CCHFV ortholog of the major bunyavirus antigen, the nucleoprotein (NP), was recombinantly expressed in E.coli, purified and directly labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Employing this antigen, two serological tests, a μ-capture ELISA for the detection of CCHFV-specific IgM antibodies (BLACKBOX CCHFV IgM) and an IgG immune complex (IC) ELISA for the detection of CCHFV-specific IgG antibodies (BLACKBOX CCHFV IgG), were developed. Test performance was evaluated and compared with both in-house gold standard testing by IgM/IgG indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and commercially available ELISA tests (VectoCrimean-CHF-IgM/IgG, Vector-Best, Russia) using a serum panel comprising paired samples collected in Kosovo during the years 2013–2016 from 15 patients with an acute, RT-PCR-confirmed CCHFV infection, and 12 follow-up sera of the same patients collected approximately one year after having overcome the infection. Reliably detecting IgM antibodies in all acute phase sera collected later than day 4 after onset of symptoms, both IgM ELISAs displayed excellent diagnostic and analytical sensitivity (100%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 85.2%–100.0%). While both IgG ELISAs readily detected the high IgG titers present in convalescent patients approximately one year after having overcome the infection (sensitivity 100%, 95% CI: 73.5%–100.0%), the newly developed BLACKBOX CCHFV IgG ELISA was superior to the commercial IgG ELISA in detecting the rising IgG titers during the acute phase of the disease. While all samples collected between day 11 and 19 after onset of symptoms tested positive in both the in-house gold standard IIFT and the BLACKBOX CCHFV IgG ELISA (sensitivity 100%, 95% CI: 71.5%–100.0%), only 27% (95% CI: 6.0%–61.0%) of those samples were tested positive in the commercial IgG ELISA. No false positive signals were observed in either IgM/IgG ELISA when analyzing a priori CCHFV IgM/IgG negative serum samples from healthy blood donors, malaria patients and flavivirus infected patients as well as CCHFV IgM/IgG IIFT negative serum samples from healthy Kosovar blood donors (for BLACKBOX CCHFV IgM/IgG: n = 218, 100% specificity, 95% CI: 98.3%–100.0%, for VectoCrimean-CHF-IgM/IgG: n = 113, 100% specificity, 95% CI: 96.8%–100.0%). PMID:29579040

  6. Ducks as a potential reservoir for Pasteurella multocida infection detected using a new rOmpH-based ELISA.

    PubMed

    Liu, Rongchang; Chen, Cuiteng; Cheng, Longfei; Lu, Ronghui; Fu, Guanghua; Shi, Shaohua; Chen, Hongmei; Wan, Chunhe; Lin, Jiansheng; Fu, Qiuling; Huang, Yu

    2017-07-28

    Pasteurella multocida is an important pathogen of numerous domestic poultry and wild animals and is associated with a variety of diseases including fowl cholera. The aim of this study was to develop an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on recombinant outer-membrane protein H (rOmpH) for detection of anti-P. multocida antibodies in serum to determine their prevalence in Chinese ducks. The P. multocida ompH gene was cloned into pET32a, and rOmpH was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Western blotting revealed that purified rOmpH was recognized by duck antisera against P. multocida, and an indirect ELISA was established. During analysis of serum samples (n=115) from ducks, the rOmpH ELISA showed 95.0% specificity, 100% sensitivity and a 92.0% κ coefficient (95% confidence interval 0.844-0.997) as compared with a microtiter agglutination test. Among 165 randomly selected serum samples, which were collected in 2015 and originated from six duck farms across Fujian Province, China, anti-P. multocida antibodies were detected in 22.42% of apparently healthy ducks, including 25 of 90 sheldrakes (27.8%), eight of 50 Peking ducks (16.0%) and four of 25 Muscovy ducks (16%). Overall, the data suggest that rOmpH is a suitable candidate antigen for the development of an indirect ELISA for detection of P. multocida in ducks; moreover, our results showed that ducks could serve as a potential reservoir for P. multocida infection.

  7. Usefulness of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for screening of anti HIV antibodies in urinary specimens: A comparative analysis.

    PubMed

    Sahni, A K; Nagendra, A; Roy, Partha; Patrikar, S

    2014-07-01

    Standard HIV testing is done using serum or plasma. FDA approved ELISA to screen urine for IgG antibodies to HIV-1 in 1996. It is a simple, noninvasive test and is appropriate for developing countries where health care personnel may not be professionally trained or where clean needles for drawing blood may not always be available. 436 individuals with high-risk behavior and strong clinical suspicion of HIV infection were screened for IgG antibodies to HIV-1 in urine by ELISA. Urine HIV testing was performed by enzyme immunoassay, at the ongoing Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing Center (VCCTC) at a large tertiary care microbiology lab. The individuals enrolled for the study had high-risk exposure to the virus and majorities were from a state with a high incidence of HIV infection. In all individuals, both serum and urine were tested for IgG antibodies to HIV-1. Overall, 135 individuals (30.96%) were HIV-positive, of whom 96 (71%) had never previously tested positive; 87% of those who tested positive received their results, and most were referred for medical care. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of HIV-1 urine ELISA test kit were determined. Sensitivity was found to be 89.6%; 95% CI [82.9-94.0], specificity 97.3%; 95% CI [94.6-98.8], positive predictive value 93.8%; 95% CI [87.8-97.1] and negative predictive value 95.4%; 95% CI [92.3-97.4]. Efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity of the urine-based screening for HIV-1 test kits were excellent as compared to the reference test.

  8. [Comparison of eight screening tests for ant-HCV antibody].

    PubMed

    Deguchi, Matsuo; Kagita, Masanori; Yamashita, Naoko; Nakano, Takasi; Tahara, Kazuko; Asari, Seishi; Iwatani, Yoshinori

    2002-09-01

    We compared eight HCV screening tests for detection of anti-HCV antibody; Ortho Quick Chaser HCV Ab (QC), Ortho HCV Ab ELISA III (ELISA), Ortho HVC Ab PA test III (PA), Lumipulse II Ortho HCV (LUMI), IMx HCV.DAINAPACKII (IMx), ARCHITECT HCV (ARCH), Immucheck.F-HCV C50 Ab (Immu), RANREAM HCV Ab Ex II (RAN). Sera from six hundred patients were examined by these eight screening tests. The positive rates of the eight screening tests were from 9.0% to 13.2%. Forty-five sera showed discrepant results between the eight screening tests, and about half of them showed weak positive reaction and/or false positive. Twenty-five of the forty-five sera were negative for ant-HCV antibody in the CHIRON RIBA III confirmatory test, and forty-four of them were negative for HCV-RNA in the PCR method. The agreement rates between the two reagents were from 95.5% to 99.2%, but were not always high between the two reagents that used similar antigen. The specificities and sensitivities evaluated by using the RIBA III confirmatory test were excellent in ELISA, LUMI, IMx, ARCH and Immu. Three BBI seroconversion panels were used to compare the positive readings in the initial stage of HCV infection by eight screening tests. ELISA and ARCH showed the earliest positive readings, and then IMx, LUMI = RAN, PA, QC and Immu in this order. These findings indicate that ELISA and ARCH were the most excellent in the sensitivity, specificity and early diagnosis of HCV infection. However, we must pay attention to the weak positive reaction in the screening tests, because there is a possibility of "false positive".

  9. Development of an equine coronavirus-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine serologic responses in naturally infected horses.

    PubMed

    Kooijman, Lotte J; Mapes, Samantha M; Pusterla, Nicola

    2016-07-01

    Equine coronavirus (EqCoV) infection has been documented in most reports through quantitative qPCR analysis of feces and viral genome sequencing. Although qPCR is used to detect antigen during the acute disease phase, there is no equine-specific antibody test available to study EqCoV seroprevalence in various horse populations. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) targeting antibodies to the spike (S) protein of EqCoV and validated its use, using acute and convalescent sera from 83 adult horses involved in 6 outbreaks. The EqCoV S protein-based ELISA was able to reliably detect antibodies to EqCoV in naturally infected horses. The greatest seroconversion rate was observed in horses with clinical signs compatible with EqCoV infection and EqCoV qPCR detection in feces. The EqCoV S protein-based ELISA could be used effectively for seroepidemiologic studies in order to better characterize the overall infection rate of EqCoV in various horse populations. © 2016 The Author(s).

  10. [Molecular cloning and expression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus nucleocapsid protein and its clinical application].

    PubMed

    Lu, Jian; Zhou, Bai-ping; Zhou, Yu-sen; Jiang, Xiao-ling; Wen, Li-xia; Le, Xiao-hua; Li, Bing; Xu, Liu-mei; Li, Li-xiong

    2005-03-01

    To clone and express nucleocapsid (N) protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-associated coronavirus, and to evaluate its antigenicity and application value in the development of serological diagnostic test for SARS. SARS-associated coronavirus N protein gene was amplified from its genomic RNA by reverse transcript nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested-PCR) and cloned into pBAD/Thio-TOPO prokaryotic expression vector. The recombinant N fusion protein was expressed and purified, and its antigenicity and specificity was analyzed by Western Blot, to establish the recombinant N protein-based ELISA for detection of IgG antibodies to SARS-associated coronavirus, and SARS-associated coronavirus lysates-based ELISA was compared parallelly. The recombinant expression vector produced high level of the N fusion protein after induction, and that protein was purified successfully by affinity chromatography and displayed higher antigenicity and specificity as compared with whole virus lysates. The recombinant SARS-associated coronavirus N protein possessed better antigenicity and specificity and could be employed to establish a new, sensitive, and specific ELISA for SARS diagnosis.

  11. DO COMMERCIAL SEROLOGIC TESTS FOR TRYPANOSOMA CRUZI INFECTION DETECT MEXICAN STRAINS IN WOMEN AND NEWBORNS?

    PubMed Central

    Gamboa-León, Rubi; Gonzalez-Ramirez, Claudia; Padilla-Raygoza, Nicolas; Sosa-Estani, Sergio; Caamal-Kantun, Alejandra; Buekens, Pierre; Dumonteil, Eric

    2012-01-01

    We sought to determine the serological test that could be used for Trypanosoma cruzi seroprevalence studies in Mexico, where lineage I predominates. In a previous study among pregnant women and their newborns in the states of Yucatan and Guanajuato, we reported a 0.8–0.9% of prevalence for T. cruzi–specific antibodies by Stat-Pak and Wiener ELISA. We have expanded this study here by performing an additional non-commercial ELISA and confirming the seropositives with Western blot, using whole antigens of a local parasite strain. We found a seroprevalence of 0.6% (3/500) in Merida and 0.4% in Guanajuato (2/488). The 5 seropositive umbilical cord samples reacted to both non-commercial ELISA and Western blot tests, and only 1 of the maternal samples was not reactive to non-commercial ELISA. A follow-up of the newborns at 10 mo was performed in Yucatan to determine the presence of T. cruzi antibodies in children as evidence of congenital infection. None of the children was seropositive. One newborn from an infected mother died at 2 wk of age of cardiac arrest, but T. cruzi infection was not confirmed. The T. cruzi seroprevalence data obtained with both commercial tests (Stat-Pak and ELISA Wiener) are similar to those from non-commercial tests using a local Mexican strain of T. cruzi. PMID:21506787

  12. Performance of seven serological assays for diagnosing tularemia

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Tularemia is a rare zoonotic disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis. Serology is frequently the preferred diagnostic approach, because the pathogen is highly infectious and difficult to cultivate. The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of tularemia specific tests. Methods The Serazym®Anti-Francisella tularensis ELISA, Serion ELISA classic Francisella tularensis IgG/IgM, an in-house ELISA, the VIRapid® Tularemia immunochromatographic test, an in-house antigen microarray, and a Western Blot (WB) assay were evaluated. The diagnosis tularemia was established using a standard micro-agglutination assay. In total, 135 sera from a series of 110 consecutive tularemia patients were tested. Results The diagnostic sensitivity and diagnostic specificity of the tests were VIRapid (97.0% and 84.0%), Serion IgG (96.3% and 96.8%), Serion IgM (94.8% and 96.8%), Serazym (97.0% and 91.5%), in-house ELISA (95.6% and 76.6%), WB (93.3% and 83.0%), microarray (91.1% and 97.9%). Conclusions The diagnostic value of the commercial assays was proven, because the diagnostic accuracy was >90%. The diagnostic sensitivity of the in-house ELISA and the WB were acceptable, but the diagnostic accuracy was <90%. Interestingly, the antigen microarray test was very specific and had a very good positive predictive value. PMID:24885274

  13. Diagnostic Accuracy and Feasibility of Serological Tests on Filter Paper Samples for Outbreak Detection of T.b. gambiense Human African Trypanosomiasis

    PubMed Central

    Hasker, Epco; Lutumba, Pascal; Mumba, Dieudonné; Lejon, Veerle; Büscher, Phillipe; Kande, Victor; Muyembe, Jean Jacques; Menten, Joris; Robays, Jo; Boelaert, Marleen

    2010-01-01

    Control of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is based on mass population screening by mobile teams; a costly and labor-intensive approach. We hypothesized that blood samples collected on filter paper by village health workers and processed in a central laboratory might be a cost-effective alternative. We estimated sensitivity and specificity of micro-card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (micro-CATT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)/T.b. gambiense on filter paper samples compared with parasitology-based case classification and used the results in a Monte Carlo simulation of a lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) approach. Micro-CATT and ELISA/T.b. gambiense showed acceptable sensitivity (92.7% [95% CI 87.4–98.0%] and 82.2% [95% CI 75.3–90.4%]) and very high specificity (99.4% [95% CI 99.0–99.9%] and 99.8% [95% CI 99.5–100%]), respectively. Conditional on high sample size per lot (≥ 60%), both tests could reliably distinguish a 2% from a zero prevalence at village level. Alternatively, these tests could be used to identify individual HAT suspects for subsequent confirmation. PMID:20682885

  14. Fasciola hepatica saposin-like-2 protein based ELISA for the serodiagnosis of chronic human fascioliasis

    PubMed Central

    Figueroa-Santiago, Olgary; Delgado, Bonnibel; Espino, Ana M.

    2011-01-01

    An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed and evaluated for its diagnostic ability to detect human IgG antibodies against Fasciola hepatica saposin-like protein-2. The assay was compared with an indirect ELISA with excretory-secretory products (FhES) from adult F. hepatica. In an analysis of the sera of 37 patients infected with F. hepatica, 40 patients with other parasitic infections, and 50 healthy controls, the sensitivity of both ELISA assays was 100%. However, the FhSAP2-based ELISA was more specific (95.6%) than the FhES-ELISA (91.9%). These results demonstrated that FhSAP2 can be used in the serodiagnosis of chronic human fascioliasis with additional advantage that is relative cheap and easy to produce. Studies are in progress to evaluate this FhSAP2-ELISA assay in a large-scale prevalence surveys in endemic areas. PMID:21683266

  15. [Trypanosoma cruzi in triatomines from Nuevo Leon, Mexico].

    PubMed

    Molina-Garza, Zinnia Judith; Rosales-Encina, José Luis; Galaviz-Silva, Lucio; Molina-Garza, Daniel

    2007-01-01

    To determine the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi in triatomines from Nuevo León using the standardization of an improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. From July to September 2005, 52 triatomines were captured in General Terán, a municipality located in Nuevo León. They were analyzed using optical microscopy (OM) and a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), as standards of reference, to develop a technique for detecting the parasite using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Using OM and PCR, 31 triatomines were found to be positive and 21 negative. Using ELISA, 27 samples were identified as positive and 25 negative (specificity 100%, sensitivity 87%, negative predictive value 84%, and positive predictive value 100%). The prevalence of infected triatomines was 59.61% with OM and PCR, and 51.92% with ELISA. Our data confirm that the ELISA assay in triatomines is a fast, reliable and useful tool. Since it was possible to simultaneously analyze a large number of samples with high sensibility and specificity values, the ELISA test proves to be useful for new epidemiologic studies having a high number of vectors. It is also less expensive than PCR. It is therefore recommended for epidemiological and preventive surveillance programs as a first screening test before conducting a confirmatory test using PCR.

  16. Diagnostic testing of dogs for food hypersensitivity.

    PubMed

    Jeffers, J G; Shanley, K J; Meyer, E K

    1991-01-15

    Thirteen food-allergic dogs were studied to evaluate the efficacy of feeding a commercially available egg and rice diet, intradermal skin testing, and serologic testing by ELISA for diagnosing and/or characterizing food hypersensitivity. Feeding of a home-cooked whole lamb meat and rice diet for 3 weeks, followed by challenge with each dog's regular diet, served as the standard for diagnosing food hypersensitivity. Each dog underwent provocative testing with 6 individual ingredients to determine as many of its dietary allergens as possible. Prior to skin testing and serologic testing by ELISA, most dogs had been recently exposed to the offending diet and subsequently manifested clinical signs of allergy. All dogs that tolerated the aforementioned commercial diet were exposed to it for at least 7 weeks; 84.6% of food-hypersensitive dogs ate the commercial diet with impunity. Of the 2 reactors to the commercial diet, only 1 became pruritic in response to provocation testing with chicken eggs. Low sensitivity and high specificity were found for skin testing and the ELISA, indicating a lack of true- and false-positive reactions. Neither the positive nor negative predictive values adequately predicted positive and negative reactions, respectively, for either test. On the basis of these results, the commercial diet, skin testing, and anti-IgE ELISA cannot replace an owner-prepared food elimination diet for food hypersensitivity testing in dogs.

  17. A novel multi-epitope recombined protein for diagnosis of human brucellosis.

    PubMed

    Yin, Dehui; Li, Li; Song, Xiuling; Li, Han; Wang, Juan; Ju, Wen; Qu, Xiaofeng; Song, Dandan; Liu, Yushen; Meng, Xiangjun; Cao, Hongqian; Song, Weiyi; Meng, Rizeng; Liu, Jinhua; Li, Juan; Xu, Kun

    2016-05-21

    In epidemic regions of the world, brucellosis is a reemerging zoonosis with minimal mortality but is a serious public hygiene problem. Currently, there are various methods for brucellosis diagnosis, however few of them are available to be used to diagnose, especially for serious cross-reaction with other bacteria. To overcome this disadvantage, we explored a novel multi-epitope recombinant protein as human brucellosis diagnostic antigen. We established an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on this recombinant protein. 248 sera obtained from three different groups including patients with brucellosis (146 samples), non-brucellosis patients (82 samples), and healthy individuals (20 samples) were tested by indirect ELISA. To evaluate the assay, a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and immunoblotting were carried out using these characterized serum samples. For this test, the area under the ROC curve was 0.9409 (95 % confidence interval, 0.9108 to 0.9709), and a sensitivity of 88.89 % and a specificity of 85.54 % was given with a cutoff value of 0.3865 from this ROC analysis. The Western blot results indicate that it is feasible to differentiate human brucellosis and non-brucellosis with the newly established method based on this recombinant protein. Our results obtained high diagnostic accuracy of the ELISA assay which encourage the use of this novel recombinant protein as diagnostic antigen to implement serological diagnosis of brucellosis.

  18. Evaluation of serological tests for diagnosis of Brucella melitensis infection of goats.

    PubMed Central

    Díaz-Aparicio, E; Marín, C; Alonso-Urmeneta, B; Aragón, V; Pérez-Ortiz, S; Pardo, M; Blasco, J M; Díaz, R; Moriyón, I

    1994-01-01

    Five serological assays were evaluated for the diagnosis of brucellosis in goats: the rose bengal test (RBT), complement fixation test (CFT), radial immunodiffusion (RID) with Brucella and Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 polysaccharides, counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) with cytosol, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with polyclonal and protein G conjugates and smooth lipopolysaccharide (S-LPS), native hapten polysaccharide (NH), or cytosol antigens. For optimal sensitivity, RBT had to be used with sera-antigen at a 3:1 dilution. In the RID test, Brucella melitensis biotype 1 NH could not be replaced by Brucella abortus biotype 1 or Y. enterocolitica 0:9 polysaccharides. In the ELISA, S-LPS and NH gave similar results and the protein G conjugate increased the specificity. With the sera from 55 B. melitensis culture-positive goats, the sensitivity was 100% for RBT, CFT (titer > or = 4), and ELISA with S-LPS or NH; 94% for RID; and 93% for CIEP. All tests were negative (100% specific) when testing the sera from 127 brucella-free goats. Larger discrepancies among the results of the serological tests were obtained with sera from goats of areas where brucellosis is endemic. When the sera of 20 young goats vaccinated subcutaneously (10(9) CFU of B. melitensis Rev 1) and bled 6 months later were examined, the specificities were as follows: NH ELISA, 60%; CFT and S-LPS ELISA, 75%; RBT, 80%; CIEP, 90%; and RID, 94%. With the sera from 10 young goats vaccinated conjunctivally (10(9) CFU of B. melitensis Rev 1) all tests were 100% specific 4 months after vaccination. The proportion of goats giving a positive reaction after vaccination decreased faster in RID than in other tests. PMID:8051240

  19. Diagnostic performance of serological tests for swine brucellosis in the presence of false positive serological reactions.

    PubMed

    Dieste-Pérez, L; Blasco, J M; de Miguel, M J; Moriyón, I; Muñoz, P M

    2015-04-01

    Swine brucellosis caused by Brucella suis biovar 2 is an emerging disease in Europe. Currently used diagnostic tests for swine brucellosis detect antibodies to the O-polysaccharide (O-PS) of Brucella smooth lipopolysaccharide (S-LPS) but their specificity is compromised by false-positive serological reactions (FPSRs) when bacteria carrying cross-reacting O-PS infect pigs. FPSRs occur throughout Europe, and the only tool available for a specific B. suis diagnosis is the intradermal test with Brucella protein extracts free of O-PS or S-LPS. Using sera of 162 sows naturally infected by B. suis biovar 2, 406 brucellosis-free sows, and 218 pigs of brucellosis-free farms affected by FPSR, we assessed the diagnostic performance of an indirect ELISA with rough LPS (thus devoid of O-PS) and of gel immunodiffusion, counterimmunoelectrophoresis, latex agglutination and indirect ELISA with O-PS free proteins in comparison with several S-LPS tests (Rose Bengal, complement fixation, gel immunodiffusion and indirect ELISA). When adjusted to 100% specificity, the sensitivity of the rough LPS ELISA was very low (30%), and adoption of other cut-offs resulted in poor specificity/sensitivity ratios. Although their specificity was 100%, the sensitivity of protein tests (ELISA, latex agglutination, counterimmunoelectrophoresis, and gel immunodiffusion) was only moderate (45, 58, 61 and 63%, respectively). Among S-LPS tests, gel immunodiffusion was the only test showing acceptable sensitivity/specificity (68 and 100%, respectively). Despite these shortcomings, and when the purpose is to screen out FPSR at herd level, gel immunodiffusion tests may offer a technically simple and practical alternative to intradermal testing. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Evaluation of the Double Agar Gel Immunodiffusion Test and of the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay in the Diagnosis and Follow-Up of Patients with Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis

    PubMed Central

    de Azevedo, Priscila Zacarias; Sylvestre, Tatiane Fernanda; Cavalcante, Ricardo de Souza; de Carvalho, Lídia Raquel; Moris, Daniela Vanessa; de Oliveira, Maria Luiza Cotrim Sartor; Mendes, Rinaldo Poncio

    2015-01-01

    The diagnosis of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) depends on the radiologic image and the identification of specific antibodies. The present study aimed to evaluate accuracy parameters of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and of the determination of serum galactomannan level in the diagnosis of patients with CPA, comparing these results with the double agar gel immunodiffusion (DID) test. In addition, the prevalence of cross-reactivity and the serological progression after treatment were evaluated by comparing DID and ELISA. Six study groups were formed: G1: 22 patients with CPA, 17 of whom had Aspergillus fungus ball, one chronic cavitary pulmonary aspergillosis (CCPA) and four chronic fibrosing pulmonary aspergillosis (CFPA); G2: 28 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB); G3: 23 patients with histoplasmosis (HST); G4: 50 patients with paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM); G5: 20 patients with cryptococcosis (CRC); and G6: 200 healthy controls. Serum antibodies were measured by DID and ELISA, with two antigen preparations—Aspergillus fumigatus (DID1, ELISA1) and a pool of A. fumigatus, A. flavus and A. niger antigens (DID2, ELISA2). The Platélia Aspergillus Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) kit was used to measure galactomannan. The cut-off points of ELISA were determined for each antigen preparation and for the 95% and 99% confidence intervals. Despite the low sensitivity, DID was the technique of choice due to its specificity, positive and negative predictive values and positive likelihood ratio–especially with the antigen pool and due to the low frequency of cross-reactivity. ELISA1 and a 0.090 cut-off showed high sensitivity, specificity and negative predictive value, but a high frequency of cross-reactivity with CRC. The best degree of agreement was observed between ELISA1 and ELISA2. The detection of serum galactomannan showed high sensitivity, comparable to ELISA2. The immunodiffusion test showed an excellent relationship with the progression after treatment, which made it the reaction of choice for patient follow-up. PMID:26271000

  1. Evaluation of indirect immunofluorescence antibody test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the diagnosis of infection by Leishmania infantum in clinically normal and sick cats.

    PubMed

    Chatzis, Manolis K; Leontides, Leonidas; Athanasiou, Labrini V; Papadopoulos, Elias; Kasabalis, Dimitrios; Mylonakis, Mathios; Rallis, Timoleon; Koutinas, Alexandros F; Andreadou, Margarita; Ikonomopoulos, John; Saridomichelakis, Manolis N

    2014-12-01

    Cats that live in areas where canine and human leishmaniosis due to Leishmania infantum is endemic may become infected and may develop anti-Leishmania antibodies. In this study 50 clinically normal and 50 cats with cutaneous and/or systemic signs that lived in an endemic area and had been previously examined for infection by L. infantum using PCR in four different tissues were serologically tested for the presence of anti-Leishmania IgG (IFAT and ELISA) and IgM (IFAT). The aim was to compare the results of IFAT, ELISA and PCR and to investigate the possible associations between seropositivity to Leishmania spp and signalment, living conditions, season of sampling, health status of the cats, and seropositivity to other infectious agents. Low concentrations of anti-Leishmania IgG were detected by IFAT in 10% of the cats and by ELISA in 1%, whereas anti-Leishmania IgM were detected by IFAT in 1%. There was disagreement between the results of IFAT and ELISA for anti-Leishmania IgG (P = 0.039) and between all serological tests and PCR (P < 0.001). The diagnostic sensitivity of all serological tests, using PCR as the gold standard, was very low, but ELISA and IFAT for anti-Leishmania IgM had 100% specificity. The diagnostic sensitivity of all serological tests could not be improved by changing the cut-off values. Seropositivity for Leishmania spp was not associated with signalment, living conditions, season of sampling and health status of the cats or with seropositivity to feline leukemia virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, feline coronavirus, Toxoplasma gondii and Bartonella henselae. In conclusion, because of their low sensitivity and very high specificity two of the evaluated serological tests (ELISA for anti-Leishmania IgG and IFAT for anti-Leishmania IgM) may be useless as population screening tests but valuable for diagnosing feline infection by L. infantum. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Development of a novel lateral flow assay for detection of African swine fever in blood.

    PubMed

    Sastre, P; Gallardo, C; Monedero, A; Ruiz, T; Arias, M; Sanz, A; Rueda, P

    2016-09-15

    African swine fever (ASF) is a viral infectious disease of domestic and wild suids of all breeds and ages, causing a wide range of hemorrhagic syndromes and frequently characterized by high mortality. The disease is endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and Sardinia. Since 2007, it has also been present in different countries of Eastern Europe, where control measures have not been effective so far. The continued spread poses a serious threat to the swine industry worldwide. In the absence of vaccine, early detection of infected animals is of paramount importance for control of the outbreak, to prevent the transmission of the virus to healthy animals and subsequent spreading of the disease. Current laboratory diagnosis is mainly based on virological methods (antigen and genome detection) and serodiagnosis. In the present work, a Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) for antigen detection has been developed and evaluated. The test is based on the use of a MAb against VP72 protein of ASFV, the major viral capsid protein and highly immunogenic. First experiments using VP72 viral and recombinant protein or inactivated culture virus showed promising results with a sensitivity similar to that of a commercially available Antigen-ELISA. Moreover, these strips were tested with blood from experimentally infected pigs and field animals and the results compared with those of PCR and Antigen-ELISA. For the experimentally infected samples, there was an excellent correlation between the LFA and the ELISA, while the PCR always showed to be more sensitive (38 % positive samples by PCR versus 27 % by LFA). The LFA was demonstrated to be positive for animals with circulating virus levels exceeding 10(4) HAU. With the field samples, once again, the PCR detected more positives than either the Antigen-ELISA or LFA, although here the number of positive samples scored by the LFA exceeded the values obtained with the Antigen-ELISA, showing 60 % positivity vs 48 % for the ELISA. For the two groups of sera, the specificity was close to 100 % indicating that hardly any false positive samples were found. The newly developed LFA allows rapid and reliable detection of ASFV, at field and laboratory level, providing a new useful tool for control programs and in situations where laboratory support and skilled personnel are limited.

  3. The evaluation of three diagnostic tests for the detection of equine influenza nucleoprotein in nasal swabs.

    PubMed

    Galvin, Pamela; Gildea, Sarah; Nelly, Maura; Quinlivan, Michelle; Arkins, Sean; Walsh, Cathal; Cullinane, Ann

    2014-05-01

    Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious respiratory disease of horses. The aim of this study was to evaluate two rapid antigen detection kits (Directigen or DFA, and Espline) and a commercial ELISA for the detection of EI nucleoprotein in nasal swabs. Nasal swab samples from naturally and experimentally infected horses were used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of these assays to virus isolation (VI) and real-time RT-PCR. If real-time RT-PCR was considered as the gold standard, the sensitivity of the other tests in field samples was 68% (DFA), 35% (ELISA), 29% (Espline), and 9% (VI). These tests had 100% specificity when compared to real-time RT-PCR. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that decreasing the cutoff of the ELISA would increase sensitivity with some loss of specificity. In samples from experimentally infected horses, the sensitivity of the tests compared with real-time RT-PCR was 69% (VI), 27% (DFA), 6% (Espline), and 2% (ELISA). The specificity was 100% for Espline and ELISA and 95% for VI and DFA. This study illustrated that DFA is the most sensitive antigen detection test evaluated for the diagnosis of EI and that it can detect virus in some subclinical infected and vaccinated horses. The results suggest that DFA is a useful adjunct to laboratory tests and may be effective as a screening test in a quarantine station or similar facility where horses are monitored daily. © 2014 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. DARPA Antibody Technology Program Standardized Test Bed for Antibody Characterization: Characterization of an MS2 ScFv Antibody

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-03-01

    performance in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ), with little regard for quantification of the full spectrum of variables affecting antibody...Program (ATP) Quality MS2 coat protein (MS2CP) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA ) 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT...5 2.7 ELISA ................................................................................................................5

  5. Monoclonal antibody-based serological methods for detecting Citrus tristeza virus in citrus groves.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhen; Chen, Zhe; Hong, Jian; Wang, Xuefeng; Zhou, Changyong; Zhou, Xueping; Wu, Jianxiang

    2016-08-01

    Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is one of the most economically important citrus viruses and harms the citrus industry worldwide. To develop reliable and effective serological detection assays of CTV, the major capsid protein (CP) gene of CTV was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) using the expression vector pET-28a and purified through Ni+-NTA affinity chromatography. The recombinant protein was used to immunize BALB/c mice. Four hybridoma cell lines (14B10, 14H11, 20D5, and 20G12) secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against CTV were obtained through conventional hybridoma technology. The titers of MAb-containing ascitic fluids secreted by the four hybridoma lines ranged from 10(-6) to 10(-7) in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Western blots showed that all four MAbs could specifically react with CTV CP. Using the prepared MAbs, dot-ELISA, Tissue print-ELISA, and triple antibody sandwich (TAS)-ELISA were developed to detect CTV in tree nurseries and epidemiological studies. The developed dot-ELISA and TAS-ELISA methods could detect CTV in crude extracts of infected citrus leaves with dilutions of 1:2560 and 1:10, 240 (w/v, g/mL), respectively. Tissue print-ELISA was particularly useful for large-scale field sample detection, mainly owing to its simplicity and lack of sample preparation requirements. The field survey revealed that CTV is prevalent on citrus trees in the Chongqing Municipality, Jiangxi Province, and Zhejiang Province of China. The coincidence rate of serological and RT-PCR test results reached more than 99.5%. The prepared MAbs against CTV and established sensitive and specific serological assays have a significant role in the detection and prevention and control of CTV in our country.

  6. Science with the space-based interferometer eLISA. III: probing the expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tamanini, Nicola; Caprini, Chiara; Barausse, Enrico

    We investigate the capability of various configurations of the space interferometer eLISA to probe the late-time background expansion of the universe using gravitational wave standard sirens. We simulate catalogues of standard sirens composed by massive black hole binaries whose gravitational radiation is detectable by eLISA, and which are likely to produce an electromagnetic counterpart observable by future surveys. The main issue for the identification of a counterpart resides in the capability of obtaining an accurate enough sky localisation with eLISA. This seriously challenges the capability of four-link (2 arm) configurations to successfully constrain the cosmological parameters. Conversely, six-link (3 arm)more » configurations have the potential to provide a test of the expansion of the universe up to z ∼ 8 which is complementary to other cosmological probes based on electromagnetic observations only. In particular, in the most favourable scenarios, they can provide a significant constraint on H{sub 0} at the level of 0.5%. Furthermore, (Ω{sub M}, Ω{sub Λ}) can be constrained to a level competitive with present SNIa results. On the other hand, the lack of massive black hole binary standard sirens at low redshift allows to constrain dark energy only at the level of few percent.« less

  7. Glycoprotein-Based Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays for Serodiagnosis of Infectious Laryngotracheitis

    PubMed Central

    Kanabagatte Basavarajappa, Mallikarjuna; Song, Haichen; Lamichhane, Chinta

    2015-01-01

    For detection of infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) antibody, glycoprotein B-, C-, and D-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (B-, C-, and D-ELISAs, respectively) were developed. The B- and D-ELISAs showed enhanced detection of anti-ILTV antibodies in infected chickens compared to that of the commercial ELISA. Furthermore, the D-ELISA was efficient in detecting seroconversion with vectored vaccine, using recombinant Newcastle disease virus (rNDV) expressing glycoprotein D (gD) as the vaccine vector. PMID:25694519

  8. Effect of time since exposure to Chlamydia trachomatis on chlamydia antibody detection in women: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Horner, Patrick J; Wills, Gillian S; Reynolds, Rosy; Johnson, Anne M; Muir, David A; Winston, Alan; Broadbent, Andrew J; Parker, David; McClure, Myra O

    2013-08-01

    To investigate what factors influence the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis antibody following genital tract infection. One hundred and sixty-four women with a previous history of C trachomatis infection contributed to an earlier report on the performance of chlamydia antibody ELISA assays. We undertook further analysis to explore how chlamydia antibody assay sensitivity changes with time since infection. Chlamydia antibody was detected in more women soon after the last detection of chlamydia at the lower genital tract than at later times. This holds true for all tests, but the Anilabsystems IgG EIA, Medac pELISA plus ELISA and the Savyon SeroCT-IgG ELISA were less sensitive than the pgp3 ELISA and the Anilabsystems microimmunofluorescence (MIF) assay at all time points except during current infection. Fall in seropositivity in women generally occurred in the early weeks and months following the last episode of chlamydia infection. There was no clear pattern of further reduction in seropositivity after 6 months. Multiple previous episodes were associated with increased seropositivity in the pgp3 assay (two or more vs one, OR 19, p<0.001) and other tests, but the effect was significantly smaller for the Anilabs, Medac and SeroCT MOMP peptide ELISAs, but not for the MIF assay. Chlamydia antibody detection decreases with time since infection and this is most apparent in the first 6 months. In women who have had more than one infection, antibody remained detectable longer for all tests, but this was more marked for the pgp3 ELISA and MIF assay.

  9. Development of a qualitative indirect ELISA for the measurement of rabies virus-specific antibodies from vaccinated dogs and cats.

    PubMed

    Cliquet, F; McElhinney, L M; Servat, A; Boucher, J M; Lowings, J P; Goddard, T; Mansfield, K L; Fooks, A R

    2004-04-01

    A protocol suitable for the detection of rabies virus-specific antibodies in serum samples from companion animals using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described. This method has been used successfully for the qualitative assessment of rabies virus-specific antibodies in serum samples from a cohort of vaccinated dogs and cats. In two initial field studies, a variable population of field samples from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), United Kingdom were tested. In the first study (n = 1000), the number of false-positive and false-negative results was 11 samples (1.1%) and 67 samples (6.7%), respectively. In the second study (n = 920), the number of false-positive and false-negative results was 7 samples (0.8%) and 52 samples (5.7%). In a third study, undertaken at l'Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA), Nancy, France (n = 440), 1 false-positive sample (0.23%) and 91 (20.7%) false-negative samples were identified. Data generated using this prototype ELISA indicate a strong correlation for specificity when compared to the gold standard fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation (FAVN) test. Although the ELISA has a lower sensitivity than the FAVN test, it is a useful tool for rapidly screening serum samples from vaccinated companion animals. Using a cut-off value of 0.6 EU/ml, the sensitivity (R = % from VLA and 79% from AFSSA) and specificity (R = 97.3%) indices between the ELISA compared favourably with data generated using the FAVN test. The major advantages of the ELISA test are that it is a qualitative tool that can be completed in four hours, does not require the use of live virus and can be performed without the need for specialised laboratory containment. This contrasts with 4 days using conventional rabies antibody virus neutralisation assays. Using the current format, the ELISA assay described would be a valuable screening tool for the detection of rabies antibodies from vaccinated domestic animals in combination with other Office International des Epizooties (OIE) accepted serological tests.

  10. Detection of kanamycin and gentamicin residues in animal-derived food using IgY antibody based ic-ELISA and FPIA.

    PubMed

    Li, Cui; Zhang, Yaoyao; Eremin, Sergei A; Yakup, Omar; Yao, Gang; Zhang, Xiaoying

    2017-07-15

    Our aim in this study is to show that IgY antibody based immunoassays could be used to detect antibiotic residues in animal-derived food. Briefly, full antigens of gentamicin (Gent) and kanamycin (Kana) were used to immunize the laying chickens to prepare IgY antibodies. Then, these antibodies were evaluated by FPIA and ic-ELISA to detect Gent/Kana in animal-derived samples. The IC 50 of FPIA and ic-ELISA based anti-Gent IgY were 7.70±0.6μg/mL and 0.32±0.06μg/mL, respectively. The IC 50 of FPIA and ic-ELISA based anti-Kana IgY were 7.97±0.9μg/mL and 0.15±0.01μg/mL. The limits of detection (LOD, IC 10 ) for FPIA based anti-Gent/Kana IgY were 0.17 and 0.007μg/mL, respectively. The LOD for ic-ELISA were both 0.001μg/mL. These results indicated that the ic-ELISA might more suitable for antibiotic residues detection than FPIA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Development of a nanogold slot blot inhibition assay for the detection of antibodies against bovine herpesvirus type 1.

    PubMed

    Japolla, Greice; Cunha-Junior, Jair Pereira; Pajuaba, Ana Claudia Arantes Marquez; Taketomi, Ernesto Akio; Bührer-Sékula, Samira; Bataus, Luiz Artur Mendes; de Souza, Guilherme Rocha Lino

    2018-06-01

    Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1) is recognized as an important pathogen causing respiratory, reproductive, and neurological disorders in cattle and is associated with economic losses to animal industry. Accurate diagnostic methods are needed for prevention of disease transmission. While the virus neutralization test is considered the gold standard method, it requires maintenance of the virus and cell cultures, which is time consuming and expensive. Serological techniques such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are widely applied, as these are easy to perform and provide quick results. In the present study, a nanogold slot blot inhibition assay was developed for the serological diagnosis of BoHV-1 and compared with standard ELISA and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) slot blot assays. Of 42 serum samples tested by ELISA, 32 (76.2%) were positive and 10 (23.8%), were negative. The sensitivity and specificity of the nanogold slot blot inhibition assay was similar to that observed for ELISA and HRP slot blot assays, and a strong correlation was observed between the tests. Thus, the nanogold slot blot inhibition assay may serve as an efficient and rapid alternative to ELISA in settings, where plate-reading equipment is lacking.

  12. Use of enzyme-linked immunoassays for antibody to types C and D botulinum toxins for investigations of botulism in cattle.

    PubMed

    Gregory, A R; Ellis, T M; Jubb, T F; Nickels, R J; Cousins, D V

    1996-02-01

    The development of specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for antibody to types C and D Clostridium botulinum toxins for investigation of botulism in cattle is described. Partially purified type C and D toxins were used as antigens to develop these ELISAs. Specificity of the ELISAs was evaluated on sera from 333 adult beef and dairy cattle from areas with no history or evidence of botulism in animals or water birds. The test was also evaluated on sera from 41 herds that included herds vaccinated against botulism, confirmed botulism cases and herds from areas where the disease is considered endemic. The ELISAs detected the presence of antibody to botulinum toxins in samples from vaccinated cattle and both convalescent and clinically normal animals from unvaccinated herds with outbreaks of botulism. Antibody was also found in unvaccinated animals from herds in which there had been no diagnosed botulism cases in areas where botulism was considered endemic. Sera from some unvaccinated cattle with high ELISA reactivity was shown to be protective for mice in botulinum toxin neutralisation tests. The use of these tests in investigations of botulism in cattle is discussed.

  13. Comparative evaluation of a rapid diagnostic test, an antibody ELISA, and a pLDH ELISA in detecting asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in blood donors in Buea, Cameroon.

    PubMed

    Kwenti, Tebit Emmanuel; Njunda, Longdoh Anna; Tsamul, Beltine; Nsagha, Shey Dickson; Assob, Nguedia Jules-Clement; Tufon, Kukwah Anthony; Meriki, Dilonga Henry; Orock, Enow George

    2017-08-01

    In malaria endemic areas, infected blood donors serve as a source of infection to blood recipients, which may adversely affect their prognosis. This necessitates the proper screening of blood to be used for transfusion in these areas. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in blood donors in Buea, Cameroon, and to evaluate the performance of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT), a malaria antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and a Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH) ELISA in the detection of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in the target population. In a prospective study conducted between September 2015 and June 2016, 1 240 potential blood donors were enrolled. The donors were screened for malaria parasites using Giemsa microscopy (GM) and a RDT. A sub-sample of 184 samples, comprising 88 positive and 96 negative samples, were selected for the evaluation of the pLDH ELISA and the antibody ELISA. The chi-square test and correlation analysis were performed as part of the statistical analyses. The statistical significance cut-off was set at P < 0.05. The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in this study was found to be 8.1% (95% CI: 6.6 - 9.7). The prevalence was not observed to be dependent on the age or sex of the participants. The RDT had a sensitivity (88.0%), specificity (99.1%), and negative predictive value (99.0%) higher than the ELISAs. The performance of the pLDH ELISA, which demonstrated the highest positive predictive value (91.6%), was generally comparable to the RDT. The sensitivity was lowest with the antibody ELISA (69.9%), which also demonstrated the highest false positive and false negative rates. The detection threshold for the pLDH (three parasites/μl) was lower compared to the RDT (50 - 60 parasites/μl). Non-significant positive correlations were observed between the parasite density and the pLDH titers and malaria antibody titers. Overall, the RDT and the pLDH ELISA demonstrated a perfectly correlated agreement with GM, meanwhile the antibody ELISA demonstrated a substantially correlated agreement with GM. The pLDH is therefore recommended for mass screening of blood (to detect malaria parasitaemia) for transfusions in the study area. However, where this is not feasible, an RDT will suffice.

  14. Detection and Quantification of Gluten during the Brewing and Fermentation of Beer Using Antibody-Based Technologies.

    PubMed

    Panda, Rakhi; Zoerb, Hans F; Cho, Chung Y; Jackson, Lauren S; Garber, Eric A E

    2015-06-01

    In 2013 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defined the term ''gluten-free'' and identified a gap in the analytical methodology for detection and quantification of gluten in foods subjected to fermentation and hydrolysis. To ascertain the ability of current enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) to detect and quantify gluten in fermented and hydrolyzed products, sorghum beer was spiked in the initial phases of production with 0, 20, and 200 μg/ml wheat gluten, and samples were collected throughout the beer production process. The samples were analyzed using five sandwich ELISAs and two competitive ELISAs and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with Western analysis employing four antibodies (MIoBS, R5, G12, and Skerritt). The sensitivity of the MIoBS ELISA (0.25 ppm) enabled the reliable detection of gluten throughout the manufacturing process, including fermentation, when the initial concentration of 20 μg/ml dropped to 2 μg/ml. The R5 antibody-based and G12 antibody-based sandwich ELISAs were unable to reliably detect gluten, initially at 20 μg/ml, after the onset of production. The Skerritt antibody-based sandwich ELISA overestimated the gluten concentration in all samples. The R5 antibody-based and G12 antibody-based competitive ELISAs were less sensitive than the sandwich ELISAs and did not provide accurate results for quantifying gluten concentration. The Western analyses were able to detect gluten at less than 5 μg/ml in the samples and confirmed the results of the ELISAs. Although further research is necessary before all problems associated with detection and quantification of hydrolyzed and fermented gluten are resolved, the analytical methods recommended by the FDA for regulatory samples can detect ≥ 20 μg/ml gluten that has undergone brewing and fermentation processes associated with the manufacture of beer.

  15. Comparison of Two ELISA Methods and Mass Spectrometry for Measurement of Vitamin D-Binding Protein: Implications for the Assessment of Bioavailable Vitamin D Concentrations across Genotypes

    PubMed Central

    Denburg, Michelle R.; Hoofnagle, Andrew N.; Sayed, Samir; Gupta, Jayanta; de Boer, Ian H.; Appel, Lawrence J.; Durazo-Arvizu, Ramon; Whitehead, Krista; Feldman, Harold I.; Leonard, Mary B.

    2016-01-01

    Studies using vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) concentrations to estimate free and bioavailable vitamin D have increased dramatically in recent years. Combinations of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms produce three major DBP isoforms (Gc1f, Gc1s and Gc2). A recent study showed that DBP concentrations quantified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) did not differ by race, while a widely used monoclonal ELISA quantified DBP differentially by isoform, yielding significantly lower DBP concentrations in black versus white individuals. We compared measurements of serum DBP using a monoclonal ELISA, a polyclonal ELISA, and LC-MS/MS in 125 participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort. Serum free and bioavailable 25OHD were calculated based on DBP concentrations from these three assays in homozygous participants, and race differences were compared. We confirmed that the monoclonal ELISA quantifies DBP differentially by isoform and demonstrated that the polyclonal ELISA is not subject to this bias. While ≤9% of the variability in DBP concentrations quantified using either LC-MS/MS or the polyclonal ELISA was explained by genotype, 85% of the variability in the monoclonal ELISA-based measures was explained by genotypes. DBP concentrations measured by the monoclonal ELISA were disproportionately lower than LC-MS/MS-based results for Gc1f homozygotes [median difference −67%; interquartile range (IQR) −71%, −64%], 95% of whom were black. In contrast, the polyclonal ELISA yielded consistently and similarly higher measurements of DBP than LC-MS/MS, irrespective of genotype, with a median percent difference of +50% [IQR +33%, +65%]. Contrary to findings using the monoclonal ELISA, DBP concentrations did not differ by race, and free and bioavailable 25OHD were significantly lower in black versus white participants based on both the polyclonal ELISA and LC-MS/MS, consistent with their lower total 25OHD. Future studies of DBP and free or bioavailable vitamin D metabolites should employ DBP assays that are not biased by DBP genotype. PMID:27250744

  16. Usability of a home-based test for the measurement of fecal calprotectin in asymptomatic IBD patients.

    PubMed

    Bello, Caroline; Roseth, Arne; Guardiola, Jordi; Reenaers, Catherine; Ruiz-Cerulla, Alexandra; Van Kemseke, Catherine; Arajol, Claudia; Reinhard, Christian; Seidel, Laurence; Louis, Edouard

    2017-09-01

    The aim of our work was to test the usability of fecal calprotectin (FC) home-based test in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. IBD patients were prospectively recruited. They had to measure FC with a dedicated tool and smartphone application, 5 times at two weeks intervals over an 8 weeks period. They had to fill in a usability questionnaire at the first and the last FC measurement. A System Usability Scale (SUS: 0-100) and the Global Score of Usability (GSU: 0-85) were calculated. FC was also centrally measured by ELISA. Fifty-eight patients were recruited. Forty-two performed at least one FC measurement and 27 performed all the FC requested measurements. The median (IQR) SUS (0-100) at the first and last use were 85 (78-90) and 81 (70-88), respectively; the median (IQR) GSU (0-85) at the first and last use were 74 (69-80) and 77 (68-83), respectively. Adherence to the planned measurements and usability of the tool were higher in females and in less severe disease. The intra-class correlation coefficient between home-based and centrally measured FC was 0.88. The adherence to home-based measurement of FC was fair. Usability scores for the home-based test were high. There was a good correlation with the centrally measured FC by ELISA. Copyright © 2017 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Use of polymerase chain reaction technique to confirm VecTest screening results in Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax VK 210 laboratory-infected Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes.

    PubMed

    Santos-Ciminera, Patricia D; Acheé, Nicole L; Quinnan, Gerald V; Roberts, Donald R

    2004-09-01

    We evaluated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to confirm immunoassays for malaria parasites in mosquito pools after a failure to detect malaria with PCR during an outbreak in which pools tested positive using VecTest and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We combined VecTest, ELISA, and PCR to detect Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax VK 210. Each mosquito pool, prepared in triplicate, consisted of 1 exposed Anopheles stephensi and up to 9 unfed mosquitoes. The results of VecTest and ELISA were concordant. DNA from a subset of the pools, 1 representative of each ratio of infected to uninfected mosquitoes, was extracted and used as template in PCR. All P. vivax pools were PCR positive but some needed additional processing for removal of apparent inhibitors before positive results were obtained. One of the pools selected for P. falciparum was negative by PCR, probably because of losses or contamination during DNA extraction; 2 remaining pools at this ratio were PCR positive. Testing pools by VecTest, ELISA, and PCR is feasible, and PCR is useful for confirmation of immunoassays. An additional step might be needed to remove potential inhibitors from pools prior to PCR.

  18. Nested polymerase chain reaction on blood clots for gene encoding 56 kDa antigen and serology for the diagnosis of scrub typhus.

    PubMed

    Prakash, J A J; Kavitha, M L; Mathai, E

    2011-01-01

    Scrub typhus is a zoonotic illness endemic in the Asia-Pacific region. Early diagnosis and appropriate management contribute significantly to preventing adverse outcomes including mortality. Serology is widely used for diagnosing scrub typhus. Recent reports suggest that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) could be a rapid and reliable alternative. This study assessed the utility of these tests for scrub typhus diagnosis. Nested PCR to detect the 56 kDa antigen gene of O. tsutsugamushi was performed on blood clots from 87 individuals with clinically suspected scrub typhus. Weil-Felix test and scrub typhus IgM ELISA were performed on serum samples from the same patients. As a gold standard reference test was not available, latent class analysis (LCA) was used to assess the performance of the three tests. The LCA analysis showed the sensitivity of Weil-Felix test, IgM ELISA and PCR to be 59%, 100% and 58% respectively. The specificity of ELISA was only 73%, whereas those of the Weil-Felix test and PCR were 94% and 100% respectively. Nested PCR using blood clots while specific, lacked sensitivity as compared to IgM ELISA. In resource-poor settings Weil-Felix test still remains valuable despite its moderate sensitivity.

  19. The Platelia Aspergillus ELISA in diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergilosis (IPA).

    PubMed

    Siemann, M; Koch-Dörfler, M

    2001-01-01

    The sensitivity of a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting Aspergillus galactomannan was evaluated with 66 serum samples and 113 specimens of the respiratory tract obtained from 52 patients with pulmonary diseases. The patients were divided into five groups: proven invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) (five patients), probable IPA (seven patients), Aspergillus colonization (eight patients) or unlikely Aspergillus infection (27 patients). Another five patients with doubtful diagnostic test results are discussed in detail. The results of the Platelia Aspergillus ELISA (Sanofi Pasteur, Freiburg, Germany) in testing specimens of the respiratory tract were 90% sensitivity in proven (serum 38%), 60% in probable (serum 37%) and 71% in Aspergillus colonization (serum 0%). Furthermore, 85% of the Aspergillus spp. from positive cultures of specimens of the respiratory tract were also detected in the ELISA. A total of 57% of the culture negative specimens of patients with a least one positive culture or proven aspergillosis in a series of specimens were positive in the ELISA.

  20. Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serological diagnosis of sarcoptic mange in dogs.

    PubMed

    Lower, K S; Medleau, L M; Hnilica, K; Bigler, B

    2001-12-01

    Canine scabies is a challenging disease to diagnose because sarcoptic mites are hard to find on skin scrapings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a serologic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as an aid in the diagnosis of canine scabies. In addition, serum samples were obtained post treatment to determine the duration and persistence of circulating scabies antibodies after resolution of natural infection. Nineteen dogs diagnosed with sarcoptic mange and 38 control dogs were tested. Sixteen scabies-infested dogs showed positive pretreatment ELISA results (84.2% sensitivity). Thirty-four control dogs showed negative ELISA results (89.5% specificity). In the 11 scabies dogs from which multiple post treatment serum samples were obtained, detectable antibodies were not present 1 month after treatment in four cases, but were present for 1-4.5 months post treatment in seven dogs. Our results suggest that this scabies ELISA test is useful in the diagnosis of canine scabies.

  1. Performance Evaluation of a Novel Chemiluminescence Assay Detecting Treponema Pallidum Antibody as a Syphilis Screening Method.

    PubMed

    Chen, Qixia; An, Jingna; Rao, Chenli; Wang, Tingting; Li, Dongdong; Feng, Shu; Tao, Chuanmin

    2016-01-01

    Syphilis is a major concern to global public health with increasing incidence. So its screening test should have sufficient sensitivity and specificity. We evaluated the performance of the Lumipulse G TP-N assay detection for syphilis screening and compared it with the InTec ELISA test kit for TP, which is widely used. Samples of several patient groups including 133 clinical and serologically characterized syphilitic sera, 175 samples containing potentially interfering agents, and 2290 unselected samples submitted for routine screening were detected by both the Lumipulse G TP-N assay and the InTec ELISA test kit for TP. Inconsistent samples were confirmed by RecomLine Treponema IgG, IgM immunoblot. Coefficient of variations of the Lumipulseo G TP-N assay at both levels were below 5% and of the InTec ELISA test kit for TP both over 5%. The sensitivity of the Lumipulse G TP-N assay and the InTec ELISA test kit for TP were 100% for all stages of syphilis. The two methods had consistent analytical specificity of 100% (95% CI: 97.21 - 100.00), while the clinical specificity was 100% (95% CI: 99.79 - 100.00) and 99.82% (95% CI: 99.51 - 99.94), respectively. Between them, Spearman's correlation coefficient was 0.455 and kappa value was 0.986. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the Lumipulse G TP-N assay was higher than the InTec ELISA test kit for TP (sensitivity: 100.0 versus 99.5, specificity: 100.0 versus 99.8). The automated Lumipulse G TP-N assay demonstrated excellent diagnostic sensitivity and specificity when evaluated as a screening test for syphilis. Thus, it can be an alternative to the treponemal screening test.

  2. Sandwich-dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of canine distemper virus

    PubMed Central

    Li, Zhi; Zhang, Yanlong; Wang, Huiguo; Jin, Jinhua; Li, Wenzhe

    2013-01-01

    A sandwich-dot enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (dot ELISA) was developed for the detection of canine distemper virus (CDV). In 56 dogs suspected to have CD the rates of detection of CDV antigen in samples of blood lymphocytes and palpebral conjunctiva by dot ELISA and ELISA were, respectively, 91% (49/54) and 81% (44/54) for the lymphocyte samples and 88% (28/32) and 75% (24/32) for the conjunctival samples. The CDV detection limits were 10 ng/50 μL for dot ELISA and 40 ng/50 μL for ELISA. The reliability of dot ELISA relative to electron microscopy was 96% with 22 samples: all 21 samples in which CDV particles were observed by electron microscopy yielded positive results with dot ELISA; the single sample in which particles were not observed yielded false-positive results with dot ELISA. The results indicate that the dot ELISA developed can serve as a reliable rapid diagnostic test in suspected cases of CD and also be useful for epidemiologic surveillance of the disease. PMID:24124274

  3. Comparisons of VLP-Based ELISA, Neutralization Assays with Native HPV, and Neutralization Assays with PsV in Detecting HPV Antibody Responses in HIV-Infected Women

    PubMed Central

    Du, Ping; Brendle, Sarah; Milici, Janice; Camacho, Fabian; Zurlo, John; Christensen, Neil; Meyers, Craig

    2015-01-01

    Objective Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers are important public health problems in HIV-infected people. Assays based on HPV virus-like particles (VLP) and pseudoviruses (PsV) are commonly used to examine HPV antibody responses in HIV-infected people, but neutralization assays with native HPV have not been utilized and a comparison of these three assays is lacking. We evaluated the agreement of assays using VLP, native HPV and PsV in detecting HPV16 and 18 antibodies in HIV-infected women. Methods The VLP-based ELISA (VLP-ELISA) was used to detect antibody responses to HPV16 and 18 and cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) VLP antigens. Neutralization assays with native HPV (NA-HPV) and with PsV (NA-PsV) were conducted to examine HPV16 or 18 neutralizing antibodies. Intra class correlation coefficients (ICC) and kappa coefficients were used to assess the agreements of seropositivity between the assays. Results The seroprevalence detected by the VLP-ELISA, NA-HPV and NA-PsV in 94 HIV-infected women was 35%, 51% and 27% for HPV16 and 14%, 44% and 21% for HPV18. Cross-reactivity between HPV16 and HPV18 was 0.35, 0.04 and 0.33 (kappa coefficients) for the VLP-ELISA, NA-HPV and NA-PsV. The agreements of seropositivity between the three assays were low. Six women who were HPV16 DNA positive were seropositive by the NA-HPV but only two were HPV16 seropositive by the VLP-ELISA or NA-PsV. One HPV18 DNA positive woman was seropositive by all three assays. Repeated tests indicated excellent reproducibility of the NA-HPV. Conclusion HPV serology results vary across different assays. The NA-HPV appears to be a sensitive and reliable approach in detecting natural HPV antibodies in HIV-infected women. The NA-HPV can be applied in both HPV natural history studies and vaccine studies in HIV-infected people. PMID:26085957

  4. Exposure to Sarcocystis spp. in horses from Spain determined by Western blot analysis using Sarcocystis neurona merozoites as heterologous antigen.

    PubMed

    Arias, M; Yeargan, M; Francisco, I; Dangoudoubiyam, S; Becerra, P; Francisco, R; Sánchez-Andrade, R; Paz-Silva, A; Howe, D K

    2012-04-30

    Horses serve as an intermediate host for several species of Sarcocystis, all of which utilize canids as the definitive host. Sarcocystis spp. infection and formation of latent sarcocysts in horses often appears to be subclinical, but morbidity can occur, especially when the parasite burden is large. A serological survey was conducted to determine the presence of antibodies against Sarcocystis spp. in seemingly healthy horses from the Galicia region of Spain. Western blot analyses using Sarcocystis neurona merozoites as heterologous antigen suggested greater than 80% seroprevalance of Sarcocystis spp. in a sample set of 138 horses. The serum samples were further tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) based on recombinant S. neurona-specific surface antigens (rSnSAGs). As expected for horses from the Eastern Hemisphere, less than 4% of the serum samples were positive when analyzed with either the rSnSAG2 or the rSnSAG4/3 ELISAs. An additional 246 horses were tested using the rSnSAG2 ELISA, which revealed that less than 3% of the 384 samples were seropositive. Collectively, the results of this serologic study suggested that a large proportion of horses from this region of Spain are exposed to Sarcocystis spp. Furthermore, the anti-Sarcocystis seroreactivity in these European horses could be clearly distinguished from anti-S. neurona antibodies using the rSnSAG2 and rSnSAG4/3 ELISAs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. In vitro evaluation of cytomegalovirus-specific hyperimmune globulins vs. standard intravenous immunoglobulins.

    PubMed

    Miescher, S M; Huber, T M; Kühne, M; Lieby, P; Snydman, D R; Vensak, J L; Berger, M

    2015-07-01

    To evaluate standard intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) as an alternative to intravenous cytomegalovirus hyperimmune immunoglobulin (CMVIG) for prophylaxis and therapy of cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease, we measured the ELISA and neutralizing titres of CMV-specific antibodies in CMVIG and IVIG preparations. Anti-CMV-IgG ELISA and neutralizing titres (fibroblast-based test) in CMVIG CG (Cytogam®, n = 20), CMVIG CT (Cytotect® CP, n = 3), IVIG P (Privigen®, n = 32) and IVIG K/G (Kiovig®/Gammagard®, n = 5) were compared, and IgG subclasses 1-4 were determined by nephelometry. Cytomegalovirus hyperimmune immunoglobulins contained more than fourfold higher CMV ELISA and CMV-neutralizing activity per gram of IgG than the standard IVIGs. Pooled data for all four products showed a significant correlation between anti-CMV-IgG ELISA and neutralizing titres (r = 0·93, P < 0·001). There was a good correlation between the IgG3 content and CMV-neutralizing antibodies amongst lots of CMVIGs (r = 0·91, P = 0·01), but this did not extend to the IVIGs. CMVIG CG contained the highest CMV-neutralizing activity (3497 ± 395 PEIU/g IgG) of any product tested. The higher anti-CMV neutralization capacity of CMVIG per gram of IgG vs. standard IVIG suggests that standard IVIGs are not equivalent to or interchangeable with CMVIG. © 2015 The Authors. Vox Sanguinis published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society of Blood Transfusion.

  6. A novel monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to determine luteinizing hormone in bovine plasma.

    PubMed

    Borromeo, V; Berrini, A; De Grandi, F; Cremonesi, F; Fiandanese, N; Pocar, P; Secchi, C

    2014-07-01

    The development of a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for determining luteinizing hormone (LH) in bovine plasma is described. Anti-bovine LH (bLH) monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were produced and characterized. One mAb recognizing the bLH β subunit was used for immunoaffinity purification of substantial amounts of biologically active bLH from pituitary glands. The purified bLH in combination with 2 anti-bLH β subunit mAbs was used to develop a sandwich ELISA, which satisfied all the criteria required to investigate LH secretory patterns in the bovine species. The ELISA standard curve was linear over the range 0.05 to 2.5 ng/mL, and the assay proved suitable for measuring bLH in plasma without any prior treatment of samples. Cross-reactivity and recovery tests confirmed the specificity of the method. The intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged between 3.41% and 9.40%, and 9.29% and 15.84%, respectively. The analytical specificity of the method was validated in vivo by provocative tests for LH in heifers, using the LH releasing peptide gonadotropin-releasing hormone. In conclusion, the adoption of mAbs for this ELISA for coating the wells and labeling, combined with the easy one-step production of reference bLH, ensures long-term continuity in large-scale measurements of LH in the bovine species. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Application of Recombinant Proteins for Serodiagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Humans and Dogs.

    PubMed

    Farahmand, Mahin; Nahrevanian, Hossein

    2016-07-01

    Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease caused by leishmania species. Dogs are considered to be the main reservoir of VL. A number of methods and antigen-based assays are used for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. However, currently available methods are mainly based on direct examination of tissues for the presence of parasites, which is highly invasive. A variety of serological tests are commonly applied for VL diagnosis, including indirect fluorescence antibody test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), dot-ELISA, direct agglutination test, Western-blotting, and immunochromatographic test. However, when soluble antigens are used, serological tests are less specific due to cross-reactivity with other parasitic diseases. Several studies have attempted to replace soluble antigens with recombinant proteins to improve the sensitivity and the specificity of the immunodiagnostic tests. Major technological advances in recombinant antigens as reagents for the serological diagnosis of VL have led to high sensitivity and specificity of these serological tests. A great number of recombinant proteins have been shown to be effective for the diagnosis of leishmania infection in dogs, the major reservoir of L. infantum. Although few recombinant proteins with high efficacy provide reasonable results for the diagnosis of human and canine VL, more optimization is still needed for the appropriate antigens to provide high-throughput performance. This review aims to explore the application of different recombinant proteins for the serodiagnosis of VL in humans and dogs.

  8. Development of animal models and sandwich-ELISA tests to detect the allergenicity and antigenicity of fining agent residues in wines.

    PubMed

    Lifrani, Awatif; Dos Santos, Jacinthe; Dubarry, Michel; Rautureau, Michelle; Blachier, Francois; Tome, Daniel

    2009-01-28

    Food allergy can cause food-related anaphylaxis. Food allergen labeling is the principal means of protecting sensitized individuals. This motivated European Directive 2003/89 on the labeling of ingredients or additives that could trigger adverse reactions, which has been in effect since 2005. During this study, we developed animal models with allergy to ovalbumin, caseinate, and isinglass in order to be able to detect fining agent residues that could induce anaphylactic reactions in sensitized mice. The second aim of the study was to design sandwich ELISA tests specific to each fining agent in order to detect their residue antigenicity, both during wine processing and in commercially available bottled wines. Sensitized mice and sandwich ELISA methods were established to test a vast panel of wines. The results showed that although they were positive to our highly sensitive sandwich-ELISA tests, some commercially available wines are not allergenic in sensitized mice. Commercially available bottled wines made using standardized processes, fining, maturation, and filtration, do not therefore represent any risk of anaphylactic reactions in sensitized mice.

  9. Study of the cross-reactivity of fish allergens based on a questionnaire and blood testing.

    PubMed

    Kobayashi, Yukihiro; Huge, Jiletu; Imamura, Shintaro; Hamada-Sato, Naoko

    2016-07-01

    Parvalbumin and collagen have been identified as cross-reactive allergens for fish allergies. Although doctors realize that various fish elicit allergies, the targets of food allergen labeling laws were only mackerels and salmons in Japan and mackerels in South Korea. This study aimed to reveal the causative species for fish allergy via questionnaires and blood tests. Questionnaire research was conducted in Japan via the internet concerning allergies for fish-allergic patients or their family members. Next, IgE reactivities and cross-reactivities of 26 fish species were analyzed using sera obtained from 16 Japanese patients who were allergic to fish parvalbumin or collagen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and inhibition ELISA. Questionnaire research revealed that 88% patients cannot eat mackerel and salmon in addition to other fish. In addition, 85% respondents were not satisfied with the current food allergen labeling law. In ELISA analyses, we clarified that pooled serum obtained from patients with fish parvalbumin-specific allergies exhibited IgE reactivity to the extracts of most fish species, and pooled serum obtained from patients with fish collagen-specific allergies displayed IgE reactivity to the extracts of all types of fish. Inhibition ELISA experiments revealed cross-reactivities of parvalbumin or collagen to extracts from all fish tested. Most patients with fish allergies displayed allergic symptoms following the intake of various fish species. In addition, fish parvalbumin and collagen were causative factors of fish allergy and were highly cross-reactive fish panallergens. Therefore, current laws should be revised in Japan and South Korea. Copyright © 2016 Japanese Society of Allergology. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for diagnosis of Amphimerus spp. liver fluke infection in Humans

    PubMed Central

    Cevallos, William; Calvopiña, Manuel; Nipáz, Victoria; Vicente-Santiago, Belén; López-Albán, Julio; Fernández-Soto, Pedro; Guevara, Ángel; Muro, Antonio

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND Amphimerus spp. is a liver fluke that infects humans and domestic animals. It is highly prevalent in some Ecuadorian communities. Currently, diagnosis is based on the microscopic observation of eggs in faeces, but this has variable sensitivity. More sensitive methods are needed for diagnostic testing. OBJECTIVE The main objective of this work was to develop an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using crude antigens from Amphimerus spp. adult worms to detect anti-Amphimerus IgG in human sera. METHODS Crude somatic antigens were obtained from adult Amphimerus spp. worms. Human sera from 119 patients were tested: 48 from individuals with a confirmed Amphimerus spp. infection, 78 from non-infected Ecuadorians living in the endemic region, 60 from persons living in non-endemic areas (20 Ecuadorians, 20 Europeans, and 20 Africans), and 33 who had other parasitic and non-parasitic infections. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Results were analysed using the receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.967. The accuracy of the ELISA was high. The sensitivity was 85.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 80.3-89.7%] and the specificity was 71.0% (95% CI: 65.2-76.8%). Some cross reactivity was detected against Paragonimus mexicanus, Fasciola hepatica, Schistosomiasis, Taenia solium, Strongyloides stercoralis, Mansonella spp., and Vampirolepis nana. MAIN CONCLUSIONS We have developed the first ELISA technique that detects anti-Amphimerus IgG in human sera with good sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. However, more specific antigens are needed to further enhance performance of this assay. Regardless, this ELISA test could be useful for early diagnosis and prompt treatment of human Amphimerus spp. infections. PMID:28443982

  11. Evidence for a natural humoral response in dairy cattle affected by persistent botulism sustained by non-chimeric type C strains.

    PubMed

    Bano, Luca; Drigo, Ilenia; Tonon, Elena; Berto, Giacomo; Tavella, Alexander; Woudstra, Cedric; Capello, Katia; Agnoletti, Fabrizio

    2015-12-01

    Bovine botulism is a sporadic acute disease that usually causes catastrophic losses in the herds. The unusual clinical evolution of a persistent mild outbreak in a dairy herd, prompted us to characterize the neurotoxin gene profile of the strain involved and to evaluate whether seroconversion had occurred. Diagnosis was based on mild classical symptoms and was supported by PCR and bacteriological findings, which revealed the involvement of a non-mosaic type C strain. An in-house ELISA was developed to detect antibodies to botulinum neurotoxin type C and its performance was evaluated in a vaccination study. Fifty days after the index case, fecal and serum samples were collected from the 14 animals of the herd and screened for Clostridium botulinum and anti-botulinum neurotoxin antibodies type C, respectively. The in-house developed ELISA was also used to test 100 sera samples randomly collected from 20 herds. Strong ELISA reactions were observed in 3 convalescent and 5 asymptomatic animals involved in the studied outbreak. The ELISA-positive cows all tested positive for non-mosaic C. botulinum type C in the feces and the same strain was also detected in the alfalfa hay, suspected to be the carrier source. Ten out of the 100 randomly collected sera tested positive for anti-botulinum neurotoxin type C antibodies: 7 had borderline values and 3 from the same herd showed titers three times higher than the cut-off. We concluded that type C botulism in cattle may occur with variable severity and that prolonged exposure to sublethal doses of botulinum neurotoxin C may occur, resulting in detectable antibodies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Reverse enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibodies against SAG1-related sequence, SAG2A, and p97 antigens from Toxoplasma gondii to detect specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies in human sera.

    PubMed

    Carvalho, Fernando R; Silva, Deise A O; Cunha-Júnior, Jair P; Souza, Maria A; Oliveira, Taísa C; Béla, Samantha R; Faria, Gabriele G; Lopes, Carolina S; Mineo, José R

    2008-08-01

    The present study aimed to evaluate the performance of three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in reverse enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for detecting immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in 175 serum samples from patients at different stages of T. gondii infection, as defined by both serological and clinical criteria, as follows: recent (n = 45), transient (n = 40), and chronic (n = 55) infection as well as seronegative subjects (n = 35). The results were compared with those obtained by indirect ELISA using soluble Toxoplasma total antigen (STAg). Our data demonstrated that MAb A3A4 recognizes a conformational epitope in SAG1-related-sequence (SRS) antigens, while A4D12 and 1B8 recognize linear epitopes defined as SAG2A surface antigen and p97 cytoplasmatic antigen, respectively. Reverse ELISA for IgG with A3A4 or A4D12 MAbs was highly correlated with indirect ELISA for anti-STAg IgG, whereas only A4D12 reverse ELISA showed high correlation with indirect ELISA for IgM and IgA isotypes. To our knowledge, this is the first report analyzing the performance of a reverse ELISA for simultaneous detection of IgG, IgM, and IgA isotypes active toward native SAG2A, SRS, and p97 molecules from STAg, using a panel of human sera from patients with recent and chronic toxoplasmosis. Thus, reverse ELISA based on the capture of native SAG2A and SRS antigens of STAg by MAbs could be an additional approach for strengthening the helpfulness of serological tests assessing the stage of infection, particularly in combination with highly sensitive and specific assays that are frequently used nowadays for diagnosis of toxoplasmosis during pregnancy or congenital infection in newborns.

  13. 9 CFR 85.6 - Interstate movement of pseudorabies vaccinate swine, except swine from qualified negative gene...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a gpI Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay (PCFIA... negative; (iv) The date of the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential pseudorabies test; and (v) The name of the laboratory that conducted the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential...

  14. 9 CFR 85.6 - Interstate movement of pseudorabies vaccinate swine, except swine from qualified negative gene...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a gpI Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay (PCFIA... negative; (iv) The date of the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential pseudorabies test; and (v) The name of the laboratory that conducted the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential...

  15. 78 FR 28866 - Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) Opportunity With the Department of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-16

    ...-Mouth Disease 3ABC ELISA Diagnostic Kit AGENCY: Science and Technology Directorate, Plum Island Animal... Center (PIADC), is seeking industry collaborators to aid DHS S&T in developing an ELISA diagnostic test... and Mouth Disease virus (FMDV) non-structural proteins (NSP): 3A, 3B, or 3C. This new FMDV 3ABC ELISA...

  16. 9 CFR 85.6 - Interstate movement of pseudorabies vaccinate swine, except swine from qualified negative gene...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a gpI Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay (PCFIA... negative; (iv) The date of the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential pseudorabies test; and (v) The name of the laboratory that conducted the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential...

  17. 9 CFR 85.6 - Interstate movement of pseudorabies vaccinate swine, except swine from qualified negative gene...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a gpI Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay (PCFIA... negative; (iv) The date of the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential pseudorabies test; and (v) The name of the laboratory that conducted the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential...

  18. 9 CFR 85.6 - Interstate movement of pseudorabies vaccinate swine, except swine from qualified negative gene...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a gpI Particle Concentration Fluorescence Immunoassay (PCFIA... negative; (iv) The date of the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential pseudorabies test; and (v) The name of the laboratory that conducted the gpI ELISA or the gpI PCFIA approved differential...

  19. Application of crude and recombinant ELISAs and immunochromatographic test for serodiagnosis of animal trypanosomosis in the Umkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa

    PubMed Central

    NGUYEN, Thu-Thuy; MOTSIRI, Mono Sophie; TAIOE, Moeti Oriel; MTSHALI, Moses Sibusiso; GOTO, Yasuyuki; KAWAZU, Shin-Ichiro; THEKISOE, Oriel Matlhahane Molifi; INOUE, Noboru

    2014-01-01

    A total of 231 serum samples were collected from sheep (n=9), goats (n=99) and cattle (n=123) in northeastern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Trypanosome infection was detected using Trypanosoma brucei brucei crude antigen (TbbCA) and T. congolense crude antigen (TcoCA) ELISA assays. Recombinant antigen (T. evansi GM6 which consisted of 4 repeat domains, TeGM6-4r) ELISA and immunochromatographic test (ICT) were also used. Crude antigen ELISA, TeGM6-4r-ELISA and ICT detected 27.3%, 29% and 19.9% of trypanosome seropositive samples, respectively. Trypanosome infection prevalence in cattle and goats was 35.8–46.3% and 0–9.1%, respectively. Out of 9 sheep serum samples, 2–4 sera (22.2–44.4%) were positive. The detection performance of crude and recombinant antigen ELISAs was relatively similar (K=0.6–0.7); both are recommended for reference diagnosis and large scale epidemiological surveys. There is potential application for ICT in on-site diagnosis, but its sensitivity should be improved. PMID:25342634

  20. High prevalence of bovine cysticercosis found during evaluation of different post-mortem detection techniques in Belgian slaughterhouses.

    PubMed

    Jansen, Famke; Dorny, Pierre; Berkvens, Dirk; Van Hul, Anke; Van den Broeck, Nick; Makay, Caroline; Praet, Nicolas; Eichenberger, Ramon Marc; Deplazes, Peter; Gabriël, Sarah

    2017-09-15

    Bovine cysticercosis (BCC), caused by the helminth Taenia saginata, is currently diagnosed solely by official meat inspection (MI) based on macroscopic detection of viable cysticerci or typical lesions of degenerated larvae. MI has a known low sensitivity (<16%), leading to a large proportion of infected cattle carcasses entering the human food chain and posing a risk to public health. Prevalence in Belgium based on MI results is estimated at around 0.22%. Due to the low sensitivity of MI, alternative techniques to detect BCC should be considered. This study evaluates MI, MI with additional incisions in the heart, specific antibody detection against excretory/secretory (E/S) in the Ab-ELISA and circulating antigens in the B158/B60 Ag-ELISA on 715 (101 MI-positive and 614 MI-negative) samples collected from carcasses at slaughterhouses in Belgium. Full dissection of the predilection sites was considered the reference test. During the study, mostly carcasses with (very) light infections were detected containing predominantly degenerated or calcified cysticerci and only few viable cysticerci. Dissection of the predilection sites detected 144 (23%) additional infections in the 614 MI-negative carcasses. When sequentially performing first the dissection of the predilection sites, followed by the Ag-ELISA and the Ab-ELISA, an additional 36% of MI-negative carcasses were found positive for BCC, resulting in a prevalence very much higher than the above mentioned 0.22%. The B158/B60 Ag-ELISA showed a sensitivity of 40% for the detection of carcasses containing viable cysticerci and a specificity of 100%, and detected 70 positive carcasses of which only 14 had been identified as positive during MI. If Ag-ELISA were implemented as a detection technique for BCC in the slaughterhouses, many infected carcasses would still not be detected due to the sensitivity of 40%. But as sensitivity increases with increasing number of cysticerci in the carcass, the infected carcasses passing inspection will be the ones containing only a few viable cysticerci and thus posing a smaller food safety problem. Ag-ELISA is preferred over the ES Ab-ELISA in this study, which had a sensitivity of 13.3% and a specificity of 91.7% in a population with overall low infection burdens. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Top