01342nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001260001300042653003500055653001100090653001200101653002500113100001000138700001200148700001200160700001500172245006700187300001000254490000700264050003200271520079500303022001401098       1976                            d  c1976 Jul10aFluorescent Antibody Technique10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium leprae1 aAbe M1 aIzumi S1 aSaito T1 aMathur S K00aEarly serodiagnosis of leprosy by indirect immunofluorescence.  a272-60 v48  aInfolep Library - available3 a<p>A method of fluorescent leprosy antibody absorption (FLA-ABS) test was described. This test was so sensitive that 81.8% of tuberculoid leprosy cases gave positive reaction even in early stage of the disease. More than 50% of indeterminate and contact cases were also positive in this test. The positive percentages as well as antibody-titers were increasing with clinical spectrum of leprosy, from TT to LL, being the highest in the latter. Using absorbed and diluted serum from known lepromatous patient, enumeration of M. leprae in skin smear showed a good coincidence with the bacterial index expressed by Ridley's scale. Therefore, FLA-ABS test will be useful for early serodiagnosis of leprosy not only by the detection of antibodies but also by the identification of M. leprae.</p>  a0024-1024