The glucuronoxylomannan component of the Cryptococcus neoformans capsular polysaccharide confers serotype specificity, and its detection in cerebrospinal fluid or serum by the latex agglutination test is used for diagnosis. Low-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starches can be used as an alternative to albumin for vascular filling. This study reports the occurrence of a false-positive result with t...

The slide agglutination test (SAT), microagglutination test (MAT), and card agglutination test (CAT) were compared with each other, using the tube agglutination test (TAT) as the standard method, by two reference laboratories to determine effectiveness as screening tests for human brucellosis. TAT titers of 1,253 sera tested in both laboratories were compared. In one laboratory, 1,270 sera were...

To evaluate different methods for their abilities to detect methicillin resistance in small-colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus, 11 different methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) clones with the SCV phenotype were used in this study. The slow growth of SCVs often makes testing by disk diffusion or by automated methods invalid. Only detection of the mecA gene by PCR and the MRSA-Sc...

The latex agglutination test for toxoplasmosis was performed on 690 blood samples collected from the Veterans and Bang Bua Thong Hospitals in Bangkok. Blood samples were collected in the first- and the third-trimester from pregnant women and from the cord blood. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in the first trimester was 13.14%, 13.60%; in the third trimester was 12.21%, 9.43% and in the cor...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of commonly used methods for the detection of rubella immunity, especially the fully automated IMx assay. METHODS A total of 190 sera (101 immune and 89 non-immune) submitted to Harrisburg Hospital or Polyclinic Medical Center for the determination of rubella immunity were tested by enzyme immunoassay (IMx and Rubazyme, Abbott Di...

Rotavirus is the main global cause of severe childhood diarrhoea among children. In 2006, Rotarix® (G1P[8]) was introduced into Brazil's National Immunization Program. The vaccine coverage rate was 84.4% in 2009. Evidences of increasing G2P[4] after 2006 opened up the discussion about the vaccine effectiveness to non-G1 strains. The aim of this study was to identify the circulating rotavirus ge...

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, in free-ranging chickens is a good indicator of the prevalence of T. gondii oocysts in the soil because chickens feed from the ground. The prevalence of T. gondii in 46 free-range chickens (Gallus domesticus) from Venezuela was determined. Antibodies to T. gondii were assayed by the modified agglutination test (MAT). Antibodies were found in 16 (32%) chicken...

Brucellosis is an important public-health problem in Turkey. Children may constitute 20 to 30% of all brucellosis cases in the world, especially in the endemic regions. Data on the seroprevalence of brucellosis in childhood are very limited. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of brucellosis among a child population. One thousand one hundred and ten subjects were included in ...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess patient demographics, clinical presentation, response to previous treatment, and current evaluation of prepubertal girls referred for gynecologic care of labial agglutination. STUDY DESIGN A retrospective chart review of all prepubertal female patients with labial agglutination referred from 1996 through 2001. RESULTS Twenty-three girls were...

Although a latex agglutination test (StaphAurex) and a hemagglutination test (Staphyloslide) correctly identified all strains of Staphylococcus aureus that were susceptible or had intermediate susceptibility to oxacillin, 17 of 73 (23%) and 18 of 73 (25%) strains of oxacillin-resistant S. aureus were not identified by StaphAurex and Staphyloslide, respectively. All strains not detected were res...