Correlation between ELISA and ML Flow assays applied to 60 Brazilian patients affected by leprosy

Da Silva, Rozana C.; Lyon, Sandra; Lyon, Ana C.; Grossi, Maria A.F.; Lyon, Silvia H.; Bührer-Sékula, Samira; Antunes, Carlos M.F.

doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2010.05.001

« Previous Next »Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Volume 104, Issue 8 , Pages 546-550, August 2010

Correlation between ELISA and ML Flow assays applied to 60 Brazilian patients affected by leprosy

Rozana C. Da Silva
- Serviço de Dermatologia Sanitária, Hospital Eduardo de Menezes, Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, 30622-020, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
- Corresponding author. Present address: Avenida do Contorno, 4852, Sala 601, Bairro Funcionários, 30110-032, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Tel.: +55 31 32270092; fax: +55 31 32270092.
Sandra Lyon
- Serviço de Dermatologia Sanitária, Hospital Eduardo de Menezes, Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, 30622-020, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Ana C. Lyon
- Serviço de Dermatologia Sanitária, Hospital Eduardo de Menezes, Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, 30622-020, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Maria A.F. Grossi
- Coordenação Estadual de Dermatologia Sanitária, Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Minas Gerais, 30130-006, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Silvia H. Lyon
- Serviço de Dermatologia Sanitária, Hospital Eduardo de Menezes, Fundação Hospitalar do Estado de Minas Gerais, 30622-020, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Samira Bührer-Sékula
- KIT Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Present address: Tropical Pathology and Public Health Institute, Federal University of Goiás, 74605-901, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
Carlos M.F. Antunes
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 30130-100, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

Received 27 July 2009; received in revised form 4 May 2010; accepted 4 May 2010.

Abstract

Serological tests can be helpful in classifying leprosy patients as having either the paucibacillary or the multibacillary form. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between two serological assays, i.e. ML Flow and ELISA, in a population of leprosy patients in Brazil. The investigation involved 60 patients with newly diagnosed leprosy. Together with the application of the serological assays, selected demographic, clinical and epidemiological data relating to the study population were recorded. ML Flow detected anti-PGL1 antibodies in 70% of the leprosy patients, while ELISA was positive in 53.3%. The degree of concordance between the tests was substantial (83.3%). A positive correlation was demonstrated between the results obtained in the semi-quantitative ML Flow test and ELISA absorbance values. We concluded that both serological assays were found to be efficient in detecting anti-PGL1 antibodies. The ML Flow test may be a cheaper and easier to perform alternative to ELISA in leprosy patients.

Keywords: Leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae, PGL-1 antigen, Serological assays, ML Flow, ELISA