Monoclonal Antibodies for Diagnosis of Infectious Diseases in Humans

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody techniques are now widely practiced. and antibodies of diagnostic potential have been prepared in research laboratories against a battery of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. In this article the diagnostic utility of monoclonal antibodies for gonococcal, chlamydial, and herpesvirus infections is described. With immunofluorescence being used as an assay system, the antibodies demonstrated sensitivities of 94 to 99 percent for culture confirmation and 85 to 90 percent for direct diagnosis of specimens smeared on microscope slides. Since the direct diagnostic tests only required 15 to 20 minutes to perform, they represented a major advance in the diagnosis of infections which previously required 3 to 6 days to accomplish. It is anticipated that in the next decade an entirely new spectrum of antibody-based diagnostics will be developed, allowing the rapid, precise, and semiautomated diagnosis of many infectious diseases.