Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Award Date

1961

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department / School

Bacteriology

Abstract

Leptospirosis is not a single disease but a group of diseases caused by a variety of leptospiral serotypes. Investigations during the past seventy years have shown that leptospirosis occurs in humans and animals in all areas of the world. Serological diagnostic procedures have been the principle means of identifying leptospirosis in humans and domestic animals. The agglutination test is a valuable diagnostic procedure for the identification of infections, such as leptospirosis, when it is not practical to isolate the causative organism from suspected cases. One of the earliest tests for the identification of leptospirosis was the agglutination-lysis test. This test has often been used as a basis for evaluation other leptospiral serological tests. Muraschi prepared an antigen consisting of lepostoiral components absorbed onto latex particles, for a tube agglutination test to detect leptospiral antibodies in serum. This was a modification of a procedure Singer and Flotz used for the serologic diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. The studies described herein pertain to tube agglutination reactions with homogenized leptospiral cell antigens absorbed onto particulate organic carriers for use as antigen in antibody-antigen reactions. The high cost of leptospiral whole cell antigen suggest the need of a search for a more economical use of this expensive material. During the course of this study, eight substances or extracts of substances were tested in solution for their suitability as fixation agents for homogenized leptospiral cell particles. From these eight substances, three appear to be suitable: supernatant of washed homogenized milk, fragments of yeast cells, and lecithin.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Leptospirosis
Antigens

Description

Includes bibliographical references

Format

application/pdf

Number of Pages

36

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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