Two-Component Direct Fluorescent-Antibody Assay for Rapid Identification of Bacillus Anthracis
Abstract
A two-component direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) assay, using fluorescein-labeled monoclonal antibodies specific to the Bacillus anthracis cell wall (CW-DFA) and capsule (CAP-DFA) antigens, was evaluated and validated for rapid identification of B. anthracis. We analyzed 230 B. anthracis isolates; 228 and 229 were positive by CW-DFA and CAP-DFA assays, respectively. We also tested 56 non-B. anthracis strains; 10 B. cereus and 2 B. thuringiensis were positive by the CW-DFA assay, and 1 B. megaterium strain was positive by CAP-DFA. Analysis of the combined DFA results identified 227 of 230 B. anthracis isolates; all 56 strains of the other Bacillus spp. were negative. Both DFA assays tested positive on 14 of 26 aging clinical specimens from the 2001 anthrax outbreak investigation. The two-component DFA assay is a sensitive, specific, and rapid confirmatory test for B. anthracis in cultures and may be useful directly on clinical specimens.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA436026
Entities
People
- Alex R. Hoffmaster
- Barun K. De
- Chung K. Marston
- Gary N. Sanden
- Gwen A. Barnett
- John W. Ezzell
- Kathy E. Wilson
- Lois A. Diem
- Robbin S. Weyant
- Sandra L. Bragg
- Tanja Popovic
- Teresa G. Abshire
Organizations
- United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases