Detection of mycobacterial antibodies in serum samples by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rarely by other subspecies of the M. tuberculosis complex, such as Mycobacterium bovis. Enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for diagnosis of tuberculosis has been widely explored over the years. The purpose of this study was to reduce the time duration required for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. We have extracted antigens from the M. tuberculosis strain H37Ra. Antibody response was studied using ELISA. A total of 30 samples were analysed for their specificity and sensitivity. Of which, 20 were positive and the sensitivity and specificity of the test appeared to be 89%. The high sensitivities, specificities and promising antigenic combination in detection of TB suggest their potential application in diagnosis of TB.

Key words: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), mycobacterial antigens, tuberculosis.