Dot blot assay for the serotyping of pneumococci

Abstract

To simplify the serotyping of Streptococcus pneumoniae, a dot bot assay has been developed and compared with the standard quellung reaction in 1,082 isolates. The technique has been demonstrated to be sensitive, specific, easy to perform, and inexpensive. The dot blot assay could be useful when large numbers of pneumococci have to be studied.