A MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY-BASED LATEX BEAD AGGLUTINATION-TEST FOR THE DETECTION OF BORDETELLA-AVIUM

The purpose of this study was to develop a rapid method to distinguish Bordetella avium from closely related Bordetella avium-like and B. br onchiseptica bacteria. A monclonal antibody of the IgM isotype was pro duced in Balb/c mice against live B. avium strain 75. The monoclonal a ntibody, in the form of ascites fluid, was added to a bovine serum alb umin-glycine buffer (pH 8.6) and adsorbed to 3.03-mum-diameter latex b eads. Optimum concentrations of antibody, beads, and bacteria were det ermined. The latex bead conjugate was tested against 40 isolates of B. avium, 24 isolates of B. avium-like bacteria, 17 isolates of B. bronc hiseptica, two isolates of Alcaligenes faecalis, and several other com mon genera. Strong agglutination occurred with all B. avium isolates a nd the two isolates of A. faecalis. Weak agglutination occurred with S taphylococcus aureus and two isolates of B. bronchiseptica. There was no agglutination with any of the B. avium-like isolates. The latex bea d agglutination test may be useful as an aid in the identification of B. avium when used in conjunction with other criteria.