01693nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653002400051653002000075653003800095653001600133653001100149653001900160653002100179653001200200653003000212653000900242100001300251700001700264700001400281700002200295700001600317245009900333300001000432490000700442520092800449022001401377       1991                            d  c199110aAntigens, Bacterial10aContact Tracing10aEnzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay10aGlycolipids10aHumans10aImmunoblotting10aImmunoglobulin M10aleprosy10aPredictive Value of Tests10aSkin1 aSaad M H1 aMedeiros M A1 aGallo M E1 aGontijo-Filho P P1 aFonseca L S00aThe dot-ELISA test for the detection of anti-PGL-1 IgM in leprosy patients and their contacts.  a441-80 v243 a<p>1. Since dot-ELISA has recently been reported to be a sensitive, simple and fast method, we have compared it with the conventional microplate ELISA method. Sera of 124 leprosy patients, 136 household and professional contacts, and 92 controls were tested for antibodies against a Mycobacterium leprae antigen using dot-ELISA on nitrocellulose membrane filters and microplate ELISA. 2. The sensitivity of the two techniques was similar for multibacillary patients, but dot-ELISA was less sensitive for paucibacillary patients although it was more specific (100%) than ELISA (93.4%). 3. Of 21 household contacts that gave a response by ELISA, 3 were also positive by dot-ELISA; one of these 3 developed indeterminate leprosy 12 months later and the other was diagnosed as borderline lepromatous after 28 months. 4. These data indicate that dot-ELISA has a high specificity and can be a useful tool in field evaluation.</p>  a0100-879X