J Med Microbiol International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vadivelu, J.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd, B. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vadivelu, J.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd, B. J.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Vadivelu, J.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd, B. J.

The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 23, Issue 3 221-226, Copyright © 1987 by Society for General Microbiology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Comparison of five assays for the heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli

J. Vadivelu, D. T. Dunn, R. G. Feachem, B. S. Drasar, N. P. Cox, T. J. Harrison and B. J. Lloyd

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), DNA-DNA hybridisation, Vero cell assay, the Biken test and a new membrane-filter method were compared in the detection of heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) of Escherichia coli. Six subcultures of each of 50 strains of E. coli from the Biken collection were evaluated "blind" in the laboratory. The combined results of the most reproducible tests (ELISA and DNA-DNA hybridisation) were used to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of the other assays. The Vero-cell assay had a high sensitivity (98%) but a lower specificity (91%). The Biken and membrane-filter assays had sensitivities of 58-71% and 77-84% respectively, depending on the type of antiserum used. Only one false positive result was obtained with the Biken test; specificity of the membrane-filter assay was 94-95%. The membrane-filter assay, with anti-cholera toxin, is specific and reasonably sensitive. It has particular advantages over DNA-DNA hybridisation and the Biken test, and it may prove suitable for screening large numbers of E. coli isolates in epidemiological studies in developing countries.




HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL J MED MICROBIOL MICROBIOLOGY J GEN VIROL ALL SGM JOURNALS
Copyright © 1987 Society for General Microbiology.