A total of 400 serum samples collected from patients, clinically suspected of leptospirosis, were evaluated for antibodies by LEPTO dipstick and microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Twenty of these patients (5%) had serological evidence of leptospirosis. Leptospira interrogans serovars Autumnalis and Icterohaemorrhagiae, Canicola and Javanica were serogroups recorded serologically. Fever and j...

We have developed an automated latex agglutination test for Treponema pallidum (TPLA) for measurement of the concentration of treponemal antibodies in syphilitic sera. The assay needs neither a complicated pretreatment of the sera nor special techniques. Intra- and interassay precision studies showed high reproducibility. Potentially interfering substances, such as bilirubin, hemoglobin, trigly...

The seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infections among food animals in South-West Pakistan was measured by serological examination using a commercial latex agglutination test (LAT). In all 262 blood samples, from 100 cattle, 40 sheep, 58 goats and 64 chickens, were collected from the city abattoir. Titers considered diagnostically significant (> or = 1:64) were detected in 25% of cattle and 2...

Cryptococcal antigen titers of 70 cerebrospinal fluid and 57 serum specimens from patients suspected of having cryptococcosis were determined both before and after treatment with pronase. Median titers of cerebrospinal fluid specimens before and after treatment were 128 and 128, respectively; mean geometric titers of these specimens before and after treatment were 102 and 204, respectively. Med...

Using 255 serum samples with various reactivities, we evaluated the Syphilis Fast latex agglutination test (Syphilis Fast) against the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination test (TP-PA) for confirming a diagnosis of syphilis. We found 98.8% agreement between the Syphilis Fast and the TP-PA. The Syphilis Fast, however, had a couple of advantages over the TP-PA: the test takes only 8 min to p...

Laboratory diagnosis is an essential component in surveillance of meningococcal epidemics, as it can inform decision-makers of the Neisseria meningitidis serogroup(s) involved and the most appropriate vaccine to be selected for mass vaccination. However, countries most affected face real limitations in laboratory diagnostics, due to lack of resources. We describe current diagnostic tools and ex...

Free-range chickens are sentinels for the presence of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in the environment because they feed from ground. T. gondii infected chickens are also an important source of infection for cats that shed environmentally resistant oocysts after eating infected chicken tissues. We surveyed 50 free-range chickens from Oyo State, Nigeria for the presence of T. gondii antibodies using...

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of human brucellosis in Najran, southwestern Saudi Arabia, and to assess the performances of ELISA and PCR as diagnostic tools for brucellosis with respect to conventional methods. The study included 340 patients with clinical characteristics of brucellosis. Blood samples from cases and controls were subjected to culture, standard tube agglutinatio...

A microtechnique has been developed and adapted successfully to the microscopic agglutination test with live antigens for detection of leptospiral antibodies. Simultaneous titrations were performed by the conventional microscopic agglutination test and the microtechnique. When the microtechnique was used to screen 50 unknown leptospiral strains with a battery of hyperimmune sera, 98% agreement ...

Animal trypanosomiasis presents special problems with regard to diagnosis. The clinical signs are not pathognomonic and the standard techniques for the detection of trypanosomes are not sufficiently sensitive. Although significant improvements have been made in diagnosis, a high proportion of infections still remain undetected as the chronic, more common form of the disease, is often aparasitae...