Serodiagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis by enzyme immunoassay and soluble antigen fluorescent antibody tests using a saline extracted antigen

Abstract The efficacy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and soluble antigen fluorescent antibody (SAFA) tests in the diagnosis of intestinal tuberculosis was compared using saline extracted surface antigen of M. tuberculosis H 37 R a . Of the 24 proved cases of intestinal tuberculosis ELISA detected positivity in 92% compared with 83% detected by the SAFA test. The 2 tests showed a strong correlation with each other and yielded a clear cut difference between patients and controls, although there was some degree of overlap.