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Antibodies to pneumococcus in serum
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Pneumococcus ( Streptococcus pneumoniae ) often becomes a causative agent of pneumonia. In young children, it can cause meningitis, and in adults occasionally sepsis. Laboratory diagnosis of pneumococcal infections is based mainly on bacterioscopy (detection of gram-positive diplococci with a capsule of more than 10 pairs in the field of vision in smears stained by Gram and Romanovsky-Giemsa) and bacteriological (culture growth of pneumococci in a dilution of 10 5 μl / ml and above) , serological diagnosis plays an auxiliary role.
Serological diagnosis of pneumococcal infection is aimed at detecting the titer of anticapsular antibodies in the patient's blood serum. The increase in the antibody titer is considered to be diagnostic after 7-10 days for the study of paired sera.
The definition of antibodies to pneumococcus is used to diagnose pneumococcal infection in inflammatory diseases of the lungs, serous and purulent meningitis.
The methods of RIA and ELISA can be used to select patients for vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae and to assess its effectiveness.
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