Abstract

ELISA has become an important technique in serology since its simple, reliable and reproducible method. We tried to detect the efficiency of ELISA in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and applied the kits which were prepared in our laboratory by using 3 different tuberculosis antigens (BCG, PPD, Sonicate).

We used the sera of 68 pulmoner tuberculosis patients. We had two control group as PPD(+) and PPD (-) with 20 volunteer participants and 10 cord blood sera.

There was significant difference between mean absorbance values of IgG levels of the patient and control groups. The correlation between cases was seen, but the number of case above cut-off levels varied with different kinds of antigens. The average sensitivity of the tests were found between 65%, the specifivity as 95%. The difference between these rates were statistically significant (P<0.05)

Our results indicate ELISA can be used in diagnosis of tuberculosis as a supplementary tool because of its sensitivity, specificity, simplicity and rapidity and that all three antigens share dominant epitopes which need further investigation and evaluation.