Latex agglutination for rapid detection of Pseudomonas pseudomallei antigen in urine of patients with melioidosis.
Smith MD., Wuthiekanun V., Walsh AL., Teerawattanasook N., Desakorn V., Suputtamongkol Y., Pitt TL., White NJ.
A latex agglutination test for the detection of Pseudomonas pseudomallei antigen in urine was evaluated for the rapid diagnosis of melioidosis. With unconcentrated urine, antigen was detected in only 18% of patients with melioidosis overall. However, when urine was concentrated 100-fold, antigen was detected in 47% overall and in 67% of patients with septicaemia or disseminated infection, in whom a rapid diagnosis is most important. The specificity of the test was 100%. These results compared favourably with an enzyme immunoassay. This latex agglutination test is a simple, rapid and highly specific method of diagnosing melioidosis, and will be particularly useful in areas with limited laboratory facilities.