The present status of the complement fixation test in viral serodiagnosis

The complement fixation (CF) procedure has played a significant role in the diagnosis of infectious diseases for almost a century. It has accomplished this by functioning in serodiagnosis and by antigen identification particularly in clinical virology. Although it has been replaced by newer, more sensitive and rapid techniques for serodiagnosis, the CF assay is still important as a reference standard for clinical laboratories.