Direct Detection of Antibodies to <i>Yersinia pestis</i> Using Glass Microstructural Waveguides as an Express Method for Assessing Seroconversion in Individuals Vaccinated against Plague

Abstract

Relevance. As part of ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well­-being, in the territory of natural plague foci of the Russian Federation, according to epidemiological indications, the population is vaccinated against this infection. The lack of a unified scheme for evaluating the effectiveness of vaccination dictates the need to develop universal express methods that allow screening studies of anti­-plague immunity, including in the field.Aims. To evaluate the effectiveness of the express method for the direct detection of antibodies to Yersinia pestis in biological material using microstructural glass waveguides with a hollow core (MGW HC) as immunosensors in studying the dynamics of seroconversion in people vaccinated with the plague live people.Materials and methods. In the study, blood serum samples were taken from 30 individuals vaccinated according to epidemic indications with the live plague vaccine (PLV) and 30 volunteers who were not vaccinated and did not have a history of contact with the plague agent.Results. An assessment was made of the possibility of using the method of direct detection of antibodies using MGW HC at different time intervals according to the receipt of blood sera in the framework of monitoring vaccinated individuals from among the inhabitants of the Caspian sandy natural plague focus. The presence of specific antibodies to the F1 protein in the blood serum of vaccinated volunteers was revealed both with the help of ELISA and with the use of MGW HC. The speed of the method of direct detection of antibodies (maximum 2 minutes per test), the absence of the need to use species­specific secondary antibodies, enzymes and substrates and additional costs for laborious sample preparation were noted.Conclusions. The method of direct detection of antibodies using glass microstructural waveguides is promising for introduction into the list of express methods for assessing the immunological effectiveness of anti­plague vaccination.