01500nas a2200217   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653002600055653001700081653002700098653001100125653001200136100001600148700001700164245009700181300001100278490000700289050003200296520094000328022001401268       1981                            d  c1981 Oct10aAntibodies, Bacterial10aErythrocytes10aHemagglutination Tests10aHumans10aleprosy1 aJagannath C1 aSengupta D N00aSerology of leprosy. I. Indirect hemagglutination test with stabilized sensitized red cells.  a507-120 v53  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>An indirect hemagglutination (IHA) test has been described for the qualitative and quantitative detection of antibodies specific to Mycobacterium leprae. Aldehyde stabilized red cells were sensitized with a sonicate antigen prepared from M. leprae purified from armadillo liver. These cells were titrated against sera from patients with different types of leprosy, their healthy household contacts and patients with tuberculosis. Specific antibodies were demonstrated in leprous sera by IHA test after absorption of sera with M. tuberculosis and M. vaccae. All advanced forms of leprosy (LL and BL) and a variable number of other forms of leprosy (BB, BT and TT) showed a positive result with an IHA titre of 1 in 32 or above. None of the household contact sera nor sera from tuberculosis patients showed a positive IHA test. The application of the simple hemagglutination test in the immunoepidemiology of leprosy is discussed.</p>  a0024-1024