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AN EVALUATION OF THE HAEMAGGLUTINATION INHIBITION TEST AS AN AID TO THE DIAGNOSIS OF RUBELLA
Author(s) -
Stout Marilyn,
James B. R.,
Lee Judy,
Murphy A. M.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb107518.x
Subject(s) - rubella , medicine , serial dilution , rubella virus , antibody , pregnancy , immunology , gamma globulin , haemagglutination inhibition , pediatrics , serology , vaccination , pathology , measles , biology , genetics , alternative medicine
The results of 14 months’ routine use of the hæmagglutination inhibition test for rubella antibodies are presented. A total of 1139 sera from 826 patients was tested. Of 505 pregnant women reported to have been in contact with rubella, 74·8% possessed hæmagglutination inhibiting antibodies, and were therefore presumed to be immune. Pregnant women who have been in contact with possible rubella should have a serum sample collected within 10 days of contact. Paired sera are necessary from patients with a rubella‐like illness, as a positive diagnosis cannot be made from a single serum specimen using this method. The test is of limited value unless serum specimens are collected at optimal times. Examination of paired sera enabled a diagnosis of rubella to be made in 68 cases, but a further 80 paired sera gave equivocal results, largely because of unsatisfactory timing in the collection of specimens. The results show that patients with rubella‐like symptoms should have the first specimen of serum collected as soon as possible after onset, and certainly within five days. The second specimen can be collected any time after the tenth day from the onset. Prior administration of gamma globulin does not usually obscure the diagnosis, but it is preferable to collect the initial serum specimen before inoculation. Under routine working conditions involving four different operators and seven different rubella virus antigens, the reproducibility of the results was found to be satisfactory, giving 95% confidence limits of ± 1·45 dilutions.