A multicenter study was performed to compare the performance of a prototypic reversed passive latex agglutination assay (VTEC Screen "Seiken"; Denka-Seiken, Japan) with the Premier EHEC Enzyme Immunoassay (Meridian Diagnostics, USA) for the detection of Shiga toxin in 554 diarrheal stool samples. Standard culture on sorbitol MacConkey agar and the use of latex agglutination reagents were included to identify the Escherichia coli O157, O26 and O111 serotypes. There was 99% agreement between the VTEC screen and enzyme immunoassay (kappa=0.823). Seventeen samples were positive for toxin by one or both assays. One toxin-positive sample using the enzyme immunoassay and four positive samples using the VTEC Screen could not be confirmed. Serotypes identified included: O157:H7 (n=8), O26 (n=2), O111 (n=1) and O45:H2 (n=1). The VTEC screen is easy to perform and comparable to the Meridian EHEC test for detection of Shiga toxin in clinical samples.
Currently, the presence of infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) is often detected in Atlantic salmon by the use of an indirect fluorescent antibody test. This test is limited by the poor stability of fluorescein isothiocyanate which fades after about a week in storage, preventing the development of stained archive material as a reference source. One possible alternative would be the use of immunohistochemical staining methods to detect ISAV. An immunohistochemical method is presented that uses alkaline phosphatase‐conjugated antibodies and Vector® Red as a substrate, to detect ISAV in kidney imprints. This paper also describes a procedure where Bouin's fluid is used to successfully inhibit endogenous alkaline phosphatase in tissue samples, prior to immunohistochemical processing. This method provides a stable stain that can be read for many weeks after staining or archived for future reference.
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