SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF LEPTOSPIROSIS: OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF TESTS
Objective. Comparative assessing of the standard serological tests diagnostic efficiency for the leptospirosis laboratory diagnosis such as reaction of microagglutination — RMA, indirect reaction of immunofluorescence — iRIF, immunoferment analysis — IFA. Materials and methods. Thirty eight serum samples taken in patients with leptospirosis confirmed by the laboratory tests, 135 serum samples the diagnosis being of a non-leprospiral etiology, and 40 serum samples taken in healthy donors were studied. The serum samples were tested applying home-produced diagnostis kits "Lepto-AgAt", "Lepto-FluoScreen", "Lepto-IFA-IgG". The tests were performed in compliance with instructions for appliance. Results. Serological tests play a key role in studying humoral response under leptospirosis. The quantitative evaluation of the RMA, iRIF, and IFA basic operational characteristics in verification of the leptospiral infection diagnosis including the disease acute (spirohaete) and immunogenic phases — sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, percent of false positive and of false negative results, predictive value, and the results likelihood ratio — is presented for the first time. The tests diagnostic capabilities are being discussed. Conclusion. It has been determined that the leprospirosis laboratory diagnosis efficiency depends on the disease pathogenesis, the clinical material sampling terms, and the serological tests used operational characteristics.