Brucella antibodies - serum
Last updated: Thursday, 08, April, 2004
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| Item | Process |
|---|---|
| Specimen | 5-10 mL blood in plain tube. Acute and convalescent (3-4 weeks) samples. |
| Method | Bacterial agglutination, Coombs anti-human globulin test, CFT, EIA. |
| Application | PUO with history of relevant animal exposure. |
| Interpretation | A bacterial agglutination titre of >160 suggests past or recent infection; a four-fold rise in titre between acute and convalescent samples is evidence of recent infection. Blocking antibodies can lead to false negative results at low dilutions of serum. |
| Reference | Chu MC and Weyant RS. In: Murray PR et al eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. 8th ed. ASM Press 2003. |