DETECTION OF CHLAMYDIA-PSITTACI (OVIS) ANTIGEN IN TISSUE-SECTIONS ANDMCCOY CELLS USING STREPTAVIDIN-BIOTIN AND THE IMAGEN(TM) STAINING METHOD

Two procedures for identifying chlamydial antigen in infected McCoy ce lls and tissue sections are described. Both the streptavidin-biotin me thod and the IMAGEN(TM) test clearly detected chlamydial antigen in ov ine placental tissue sections and in infected McCoy cells before they could be detected by conventional stains. The streptavidin-biotin meth od is lengthy, but specific and sensitive, and the slides can be kept indefinitely for later examination. By contrast, the IMAGEN(TM) test i s a single step procedure which requires fluorescent microscopy and sl ides can only be kept for up to 1 week before examination.