THE MICROAGGLUTINATION ASSAY - A SIMPLE A ND SENSITIVE TEST FOR THE SERODIAGNOSIS OF PERTUSSIS

The microagglutination assay is a useful method for the diagnosis of B . pertussis infections. In a group of 30 patients with culture proven pertussis 27 (90%) had greater than or equal to fourfold increases in titers between acute and convalescent phase serum specimens. The micro agglutination test offers several advantages over other more sophistic ated B. pertussis antibody tests: only 50 mu l of serum is required, i t is a standardized test, which doesn't require specialized technical expertise or equipment, it is easy to perform and good results are not ed in a broad age range of patients. Disadvantages of the microaggluti nation test are: two separate serum specimens are necessary (acute and convalescent phase), the test does not differentiate IgA and IgG anti bodies and the temporal association with recent immunization can lead to false positive results. In our opinion the microagglutination test is a useful method for the diagnosis of B. pertussis infections. This is especially true in cases where more sophisticated serologic tests s uch as ELISA can not be performed immediately but physicians and patie nts expect to get a result quickly.