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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2004, p. 2518-2522, Vol. 42, No. 6
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.6.2518-2522.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Simple, Rapid Latex Agglutination Test for Serotyping of Pneumococci (Pneumotest-Latex)
H.-C. Slotved,1* M. Kaltoft,2 I. C. Skovsted,1 M. B. Kerrn,1 and F. Espersen3
Serum-Production Unit,1
Streptococcus Unit, Department of Bacteriology, Mycology and Parasitology,2
Division of Microbiology and Diagnostics, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark3
Received 30 October 2003/
Returned for modification 12 December 2003/
Accepted 17 March 2004
The "gold standard" for epidemiological typing of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is the capsular reaction test (Neufeld test) with antisera against the 90 pneumococcal polysaccharide capsules, i.e., serotyping. The method is labor intensive and requires a certain level of experience to be performed satisfactory, and thus it has been restricted for use in specialized reference or research laboratories. Surveillance of the serotype distribution of pneumococci that cause infections is important to secure an optimal composition of pneumococcal vaccines and to monitor antibiotic resistance in pneumococci. At Statens Serum Institut, a simple latex agglutination test for serotyping of pneumococci has been developed. The Pneumotest-Latex kit consists of 14 different pooled pneumococcus antisera (pools A to I and pools P to T) applied to latex particles. In a blind test of 352 isolates (with all 90 serotypes represented), 336 (95.5%) were typed or grouped correctly by the Pneumotest-Latex; in addition, 2 (7%) of 30 strains regarded as nontypeable or rough strains were serotyped, and the serotypes of these two isolates were confirmed by the capsular reaction test with type-specific antisera. The Pneumotest-Latex seems to be a sensitive method for serotyping or grouping of the majority of pneumococcal strains. By use of this ready-to-perform latex agglutination kit (Pneumotest-Latex), serotyping of pneumococci can gain more ground as a tool in prevention of pneumococcal diseases.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Serum-Production Unit, Department of Bacteriology, Mycology and Parasitology, Division of Microbiology and Diagnostics, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen, Denmark. Phone: 45 32688422. Fax: 45 32683865. E-mail:
hcs{at}ssi.dk.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, June 2004, p. 2518-2522, Vol. 42, No. 6
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.6.2518-2522.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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