DETECTION OF RIFAMPICIN AND ISONIAZID RESISTANCES OF MYCOBACTERIUM-TUBERCULOSIS STRAINS BY PARTICLE COUNTING IMMUNOASSAY (PACIA)

The particle agglutinated counting immunoassay (PACIA) was used to det ermine the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains to the two major antimycobacterial drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. On evalu ating 12 M. tuberculosis strains with different sensitivities, our res ults were in complete accordance with those obtained using the well-kn own BACTEC system. The PACIA technique is automated and quite inexpens ive. Interpretation of the test may be achieved in as little as five d ays.