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Modified indirect hemagglutination test for detection of treponemal antibodies in finger-prick blood.

Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.

ABSTRACT

A modified indirect hemagglutination test for the detection of treponemal antibodies was developed for use with finger-prick blood. By using paired serum and absorbed finger-prick blood from 58 patients from an area previously endemic for yaws and 12 patients without yaws, the modified hemagglutination test was compared with a hemagglutination test for Treponema pallidum and the fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test. The modified hemagglutination test showed 100% specificity and an overall agreement of 96.5% with the hemagglutination test for T. pallidum and 94.8% with the fluorescent treponemal antibody test. The modified hemagglutination test appears to be a simple and economical test that is suitable for use in large epidemiological surveys for yaws.