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Detection of Clostridium difficile toxins by enzyme immunoassay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

C. Krishnan
C. Krishnan
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5A5
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An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the rapid diagnosis of antibiotic-associated colitis (AAC) is presented. Commercially available antisera to Clostridium difficile toxins contain antibodies to other antigens found in non-toxigenic C. difficile and other bacteria. Removal of these unwanted antibodies by absorption increased the specificity of ELISA for detection of C. difficile toxins. Specimens tested included 40 faecal extracts positive for cytotoxicity from cases of AAC, 30 diarrhoeic and 30 well-formed stools negative for cytotoxicity and 50 culture filtrates of toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. difficile and other clostridial species. Use of absorbed sera reduced false-positive reactions observed with faecal specimens frqm 23 to 8 %. About 90 % of specimens that were positive by the tissue culture cytotoxicity test were positive by ELISA using the absorbed sera. The relative merits of ELISA and other methods for the rapid diagnosis of AAC are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 96 , Issue 1 , February 1986 , pp. 5 - 12
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

References

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