A rapid immunofluorescent procedure for serodiagnosis of Q fever in mice, guinea pigs, sheep, and humans

The ability to diagnose Q fever has been hampered by the fact that diagnosis depends upon difficult serologic tests such as complement fixation (CF) or slide immunofluorescence performed only at reference laboratories. A new quantitative solid phase fluorescent antibody test (FIAX) has recently been...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDiagnostic immunology Vol. 1; no. 1; p. 33
Main Authors Ascher, M S, Horwith, G S, Thornton, M F, Greenwood, J R, Berman, M A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 1983
Subjects
Animals
Antibodies, Bacterial - analysis
Biological Assay
Complement Fixation Tests
Coxiella - immunology
Fluorescent Antibody Technique
Guinea Pigs
Humans
Mice
Q Fever - diagnosis
Q Fever - immunology
Q Fever - veterinary
Sheep
Sheep Diseases - diagnosis
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Summary:The ability to diagnose Q fever has been hampered by the fact that diagnosis depends upon difficult serologic tests such as complement fixation (CF) or slide immunofluorescence performed only at reference laboratories. A new quantitative solid phase fluorescent antibody test (FIAX) has recently been developed and applied to measure antibodies in several microbial systems. The test takes less than 2 hr to perform and employs stable reagents. We have utilized this technique and developed a rapid immunofluorescent assay for detection of antibodies to Coxiella burnetii in man and animals. Sera from guinea pigs and mice immunized with phase I vaccine and from naturally infected sheep show high levels of fluorescence against both phase I and phase II antigens by this technique. We have tested over 100 CF positive humans from a recent laboratory outbreak of Q fever and find an excellent correlation between FIAX and CF results.
ISSN:0735-3111