Counterimmunoelectrophoresis: An Adjunct to Bacterial Culture in the Diagnosis of Meningococcal Meningitis

Abstract

AbstractGroup-specific meningococcal antigen was detected by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) in 88% of 137 cerebrospinal fluid specimens that were culture positive for Neisseria meningitidis. In addition, 22% of 128 specimens that were negative by culture were positive by this method. However, meningococcal antigen was not found in any of the 20 samples that were culture positive for other bacterial agents. These data suggest that CIE is a reliable as well as rapid technique for diagnosis of meningococcal meningitis.