EVALUATION OF CHLAMYDIA IMMUNOGLOBULIN-M (IGM), IGG, AND IGA RELISAS MEDAC FOR DIAGNOSIS OF CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE INFECTION

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an important pathogen responsible for a variet y of respiratory diseases in humans, Cell culture remains the most spe cific method for C. pneumoniae diagnosis, but it is labor-intensive an d time-consuming. Thus, serology, particularly microimmunofluorescence (MIF) testing, is frequently utilized, However, the MIF test has a si gnificant subjective component, We evaluated a new serological test: C hlamydia Immunoglobulin M (IgG), IgA, and IgM rELISAs Medac, based on a recombinant Chlamydia-specific lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fragment, fo r the diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infection. The results of this study demonstrated that the use of rELISAs Medac with single sera does not a ppear to be sensitive or specific for diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infec tion compared to culture, In children, sensitivities of the rELISAs co mpared to culture did not exceed 34.2%, and the specificities ranged f rom 68.4% (IgG) to 91.2% (IgA). In adults, the sensitivities of the rE LISAs were slightly higher, up to 77.8% (IgA or IgG), but the specific ities ranged from a very low 20.8% for IgA or IgG to 81.1% for IgM. Wh en multiple sera were tested, the results of the rELISAs Medac correla ted with culture results in five of eight (62.5%) patients. However, t his offers only a retrospective diagnosis, which makes it difficult to manage these patients prospectively.