RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF BURKHOLDERIA PSEUDOMALLEI IN BLOOD CULTURES BY LATEX AGGLUTINATION USING LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-SPECIFIC MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY

Abstract. Melioidosis, an infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, is endemic in Southeast Asia. The septicemic form of melioidosis is the leading cause of death due to community-acquired bacteremia in the northeastern part of Thailand. The delay in isolation and identification of the causative organism is a major contributing factor to the high mortality. The present study describes the evaluation of a latex agglutination test for rapid identification of the bacteria directly from blood cultures. The Bps-L1 monoclonal antibody recognized the lipopolysaccharide antigen of 96.8 % of B. pseudomallei clinical isolates and was highly specific for B. pseudomallei. The diagnostic value of the latex agglutination test based on Bps-L1 monoclonal antibody was prospectively evaluated in an area endemic for melioidosis. The agglutination test kit was evaluated in 88 blood cultures with gram-negative bacteria identified with Gram staining. The sensitivity and specificity of the test kit were both 100%. These results indicated that the detection of B. pseudomallei lipopolysaccharide by specific monoclonal antibody in a latex agglutination format is clinically useful for the rapid identification of the bacteria in blood cultures in areas endemic for melioidosis. Melioidosis is an important infectious disease known to be endemic in Southeast Asia and the northern part of Aus-tralia. The causative agent, Burkholderia pseudomallei, is one of the most important causes of fatality in community