APPLICATION OF MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY-BASED LATEX AGGLUTINATION TEST FOR DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENT OF MELIOIDOSIS IN CLINICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTS

Abstract

The review summarizes the basic information on the development and diagnostic capabilities of the latex agglutination test (LAT), used for detection and subsequent identification of melioidosis pathogen. According to the published literature, the use of melioidosis monoclonal antibodies of various epitope direction for coat the latex beads (suspension carrier), the main detection ingredient of this reaction, contributes to an increase in the diagnostic capabilities of this method: its sensitivity and specificity, which has been repeatedly confirmed by specialists working both in endemic zone distribution of Burkholderia pseudomallei and outside these territories. As most authors of the publications noted, after introduction of this reaction into practical work of profile laboratories, low-cost commercial products (test set of reagents for latex agglutination reaction) can find wide application both in stationary and mobile laboratories. The undoubted merits of the method are its simplicity, clarity, suitability for working with various samples from objects of the external environment and biological material, as well as obtained evidence ofthe suitability of LAT to ensure effective differentiation of B. pseudomallei from avirulent related bacteria and detection of the causative agent in the early stages of the disease for relatively short intervals, which makes it a promising method for diagnosing melioidosis, a potentially fatal infection requiring an early onset appropriate antibiotic therapy.