Multiple tests were compared to the reference standard PBP2a latex agglutination test for detection of mecA-mediated oxacillin resistance in canine staphylococci. Cefoxitin disk diffusion, using breakpoints for human isolates of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp., had low sensitivity for detection of oxacillin resistance in members of the Staphylococcus intermedius group.

Toxoplasma gondii is an important pathogen in aquatic mammals and its presence in these animals may indicate the water contamination of aquatic environment by oocysts. Serum samples from 95 free-living Amazon River dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) from the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve (RDSM), Tefé, Amazonas, Central Amazon, Brazil were tested for T. gondii antibodies using the modified a...

Methods Twenty hospitals (Hospitals A to T) throughout Taiwan (8 in northern, 2 in central, 7 in southern, 2 in eastern Taiwan, and one in rural island) were cultured for Legionella. We followed the standardized protocol to perform environmental cultures using (1) water samples; (2) BCYE and DGVP culture media; (3) latex agglutination test (LAX) and direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) technique f...

Two latex agglutination tests for the detection of Candida antigens, Pastorex Candida (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, Marnes-la-Coquette, France) and Cand-Tec (Ramco Laboratories, Inc., Houston, Tex.), were applied to 79 serum samples from 19 patients who were retrospectively selected on the basis of mycological and clinical evidence of C. albicans infection and the availability of serial serum sa...

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii was surveyed in wild boars (Sus scrofa leucomystax) and domiciled cats obtained in various areas of Amakusa Island, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The antibody titers against T. gondii were measured with a latex agglutination test. Among specimens taken from 90 wild boars, 1 (1.1%) was positive and 3 (3.3%)were doubtfully positive. Among the specimens from 50 ca...

A latex agglutination test employing serogroup-specific meningococcal polysaccharides as the antigen has been developed. The test has been used to measure serological responses in patients with meningococcal disease, in meningococcal carriers, and in volunteers who received meningococcal vaccines. It has been shown to be a sensitive and highly specific test for the detection of group-specific m...

Samples of cerebrospinal fluid from 103 patients with aseptic meningitis were tested by PCR for detection of leptospires, and the results were compared with those of the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of immunoglobulin M (ELISA-IgM). Of these samples, 39.80% were positive by PCR and 8.74 and 3.88% were positive by MAT and ELISA-IgM, r...

Different isolates of Toxoplasma gondii (RH, equine, camel and sheep) strain were evaluated when used as antigens in the modified agglutination test (MAT) for the detection of antibodies to T. gondii in sera of slaughtered camels and donkeys from Egypt. The camel and sheep strains of T. gondii revealed a higher prevalence of toxoplasmosis in camels (30.7 and 27.3%) than that showed by RH and eq...

The methods commonly used for human brucellosis serological testing are agglutination tests and the complement fixation test (CFT). Among the newer serological tests, primary binding assays were developed to improve sensitivity and specificity. The competitive enzyme immunoassay (CELISA) for the detection of serum antibody to Brucella is a multispecies assay which appears to be capable of diffe...