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Detection of Meningococcal Antigen by Latex Agglutination

  • Protocol
Meningococcal Disease

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Medicine™ ((MIMM,volume 67))

Abstract

Meningococcal meningitis and septicemia are serious infections with significant morbidity and mortality. A sensitive affordable test is required to provide evidence of meningococcal disease at the earliest opportunity to improve local management and give early warning of potential outbreaks of disease. Culture of organisms is considered the gold standard for diagnosis but is slow (24 h or more) and increasingly influenced by prior antibiotic treatment. Recently, the development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has improved diagnosis but this sensitive assay is costly, is not available at most primary care institutions and is not feasible for developing countries. Conventional latex agglutination (LA) enables rapid detection of bacterial antigen in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (1,2) and can also be used to test specimens of blood (3,4) or urine (5) and for serogroup determinations on primary cultures (6,7). We discuss here test-card agglutination and also describe a new technique based upon LA in an ultrasonic standing wave that retains the speed of direct antigen testing while significantly increasing sensitivity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology and PHLS, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK

    Rosemary A. Barnes

  2. School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Michael A. Sobanski & W. Terence Coakley

Authors
  1. Michael A. Sobanski
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  2. Rosemary A. Barnes
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  3. W. Terence Coakley
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. BC Research Institute for Children’s and Women’s Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Andrew J. Pollard MD, PhD

  2. Wellcome Trust Centre for the Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, Oxford, UK

    Martin C. J. Maiden PhD

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© 2001 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ

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Sobanski, M.A., Barnes, R.A., Coakley, W.T. (2001). Detection of Meningococcal Antigen by Latex Agglutination. In: Walker, J.M., Pollard, A.J., Maiden, M.C.J. (eds) Meningococcal Disease. Methods in Molecular Medicine™, vol 67. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-149-3:41

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-149-3:41

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-89603-849-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-59259-149-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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