SERODIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN YERSINIA PATHOGENS

Objectives: The test classically used for the serological diagnosis of yersiniosis is based on the technique of agglutination of killed bact eria, The sensitivity of this technique is low and numerous cross reac tions are observed, The aim of this work was to develop a new serologi cal test based on the ELISA method and to compare the results obtained by this method and by agglutination, Methods: The antigens used for t he ELISA test were the virulence plasmid-encoded proteins present in a ll pathogenic Yersinia and specific for this bacterial genera, The bac kground of this technique was determined using 30 normal human sera. V alidation of the ELISA method was performed with human sera negative ( 23) or positive (72) by the agglutination technique, The sensitivity o f the ELISA test was compared,vith that of agglutination using 10 pati ents' sera which remained negative by the agglutination test despite t he isolation of a pathogenic Yersinia. Finally, the ELISA specificity was determined with the sera of patients suffering from tuberculosis ( 20), typhoid fever (6), suspected or confirmed brucellosis (5) and sus pected yersiniosis but having a positive Wright reaction (13), Results : We show here that, in addition to the advantages inherent in the ELI SA technique, this test is more sensitive and specific than the agglut ination test, Furthermore, the ELISA test can be used for all pathogen ic Yersinia, whatever their serotype and biotype, Conclusion: The use of the ELISA test should significantly improve the serodiagnosis of ye rsiniosis.