Development of Lateral Flow Test for Serological Diagnosis of Tularemia

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Tularemia is a highly contagious zoonotic infection caused by Francisella tularensis.Bacterial culture, serology and molecular methods are used in the diagnosis of tularemia.Th e agent is a dangerous pathogen, and the importance of serological tests in diagnosis has increased because of the difficulty in culturing the organism.In this study, a practical, fast and reliable lateral fl ow-based immunochromatographic test was planned to detect F. tularensis specific antibodies in the field.Partially purified lipopolysaccharide antigen obtained from the live vaccine strain of F. tularensis was used as antigen.To determine the sensitivity of the test, 17 true positive tularemia serum samples with known Microagglutination test results, and to determine of specificity of the test, 30 true negative serum samples were used.In this study, Brucella-positive patient sera of various titers from our laboratory's serum bank to determine possible cross-reactivity with Brucella antibodies were also tested.Th e sensitivity and specificity of the Lateral Flow Test (LFT) rapid diagnostic kit were evaluated in comparison to the standard microagglutination test.Th e sensitivity and specificity of the newly developed Lateral Flow Test (LFT) were found at 100% and 93.5%, respectively.LFT for tularemia revealed 5% cross-reaction with positive sera for brucellosis.Cross-reactions were observed at antibody titers of 1:20 and below.In conclusion, it was concluded that the newly developed lateral fl ow test is a fast, reliable, and practical alternative test for the serological diagnosis of tularemia and cross-reaction in the serological tests conducted for brucellosis and tularemia should always be considered.