OBJECTIVES To compare the performance of three diagnostic methods for Trichomonas vaginalis infection-latex agglutination, saline wet mount, and culture. METHODS Vaginal swabs from 3807 women attending antenatal clinics were tested for the presence of T vaginalis by latex agglutination. All positives and the following two negatives were tested by wet preparation and culture. RESULTS The pre...

Background: Until now, the comparison of the rK39 strip test (RKT) and direct ag-glutination test (DAT) for detection of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is exclusively based on either positive or negative qualification of the reaction outcome. Objective: In this study, we compared the diagnostic performance of RKT and DAT for VL both qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. Methods: For comparison ba...

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an endemic disease in some parts of Iran. Many techniques have been used for diagnosis of VL, among which the urine based la-tex agglutination test (KAtex) is a promising one. Objective: To compare three diag-nostic tests of VL including KAtex, ELISA and Direct Agglutination Test (DAT) in VL patients and healthy controls in the south west of Iran. Meth...

The relative efficacy of the card test in the diagnosis of human brucellosis was evaluated by comparison with four other tests: the standard tube agglutination test, centrifugation agglutination test, 2-mercaptoethanol degradation technique, and 2-mercaptoethanol centrifugation agglutination test. A total of 1,701 serum specimens from persons with various degrees of potential exposure to brucel...

A new latex agglutination test for rubella virus was used to test sera with a hemagglutination inhibition titer of less than or equal to 8 (97 specimens) or greater than or equal to 256 (158 specimens). Maximum latex agglutination test sensitivity was achieved when low-titer sera were tested undiluted and high-titer sera were diluted (1:10). A modification of the protocol of the manufacturer re...

A modified rapid slide agglutination test for the presumptive identification of Brucella canis infection in dogs has been developed. The method required mixing 0.1 ml of canine serum with 0.1 ml of 0.2 M 2-mercaptoethanol solution. Equal volumes (0.05 ml) of the treated serum and the B. canis plate antigen were mixed. Agglutination results were read within 2 min. Clinical studies showed 100% ag...

Similar results were obtained when testing human sera for Salmonella antibodies by the tube agglutination test and by the Microtiter plate agglutination test. The plate test was easier to perform and saved time, space, antigen, and serum.