Improved latex agglutination test for detection of antibodies in serum andcerebrospinal fluid of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infected patients

A rapid latex agglutination test (LATEX/T. b. gambiense) for detection of a ntibodies in patients infected with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense is present ed. The reagent is coated with a mixture of three variable surface antigens of bloodstream form trypanosomes. Two hundred and forty sera and 79 CSF sa mples from patients with parasitologically confirmed trypanosome infection along with 173 sera and 38 CSF samples from non-trypanosomiasis patients ha ve been tested. At 1:16 serum dilution, test specificity was 99%, while sen sitivity ranged from 83.8 to 100% depending on the geographical origin of t he samples. Undiluted CSF samples from non-trypanosomiasis and from first s tage patients scored negative while 42 out of 66 CSF samples from second st age patients were positive. Stability and reproducibility of the lyophilize d reagent were excellent. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.