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Use of a sensitive microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in a retrospective serological analysis of a laboratory population at risk to infection with typhus group rickettsiae
- Source :
- Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 12:343-350
- Publication Year :
- 1980
- Publisher :
- American Society for Microbiology, 1980.
-
Abstract
- A microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), developed for the detection of antibodies to typhus group rickettsiae, was used to analyze human sera from individuals engaged directly or indirectly in rickettsial research. The earliest serum available from each of 112 individuals was tested for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies against Rickettsia typhi and Rickettsia prowazekii by ELISA at a 1:500 dilution. In at least one assay, nine sera had ELISA optical densities of greater than 0.2, which were above the mean optical densities plus three standard deviations of the other 103 sera. Three of the positive sera were from individuals with known clinical cases of typhus infection. The other sera with predominantly IgG titers were from individuals with extended laboratory exposure to rickettsiae or histories of typhus vaccination, or both. During continued serological surveillance, eight additional people with repeated occupational exposure to typhus rickettsiae had seroconversions in the ELISA to optical densities of greater than 0.2. No apparent clinical illness occurred in two individuals, whereas six clinical cases of infection occurred in others subsequent to accidental laboratory autoinoculation (one) or aerosol exposures (five). In the clinical infections, antibodies were first detected at 7 days, but in subsequent sera, rises and declines in titers were quite variable and were influenced by vaccination, relapse, and time and extent of antibiotic therapy. In primary infections the sera of several individuals who received immediate antibiotic therapy had brief strong IgM responses without pronounced increases in IgG. In contrast, much higher IgG levels were attained in three cases in which relapse occurred, the individual had previously been immunized, or treatment had been delayed. The microplate ELISA proved to be a highly sensitive and reliable test for detection of the human serological response to typhus antigens.
- Subjects :
- Microbiology (medical)
Population
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Rickettsiaceae Infections
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Immunoglobulin G
Serology
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Recurrence
Rickettsia typhi
medicine
Humans
Rickettsia prowazekii
education
Retrospective Studies
education.field_of_study
biology
Vaccination
Laboratory Infection
bacterial infections and mycoses
biology.organism_classification
medicine.disease
Antibodies, Bacterial
Virology
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Titer
Immunoglobulin M
Immunology
biology.protein
bacteria
Typhus
Research Article
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 1098660X and 00951137
- Volume :
- 12
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Clinical Microbiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....7d373c41fe8069feff9e83265c1b1d4f