Rapid assay for immunological detection of Trichomonas vaginalis

Trichomoniasis is a common sexually transmitted disease with an estimated incidence of 4 million to 8 million cases a year in the United States. The most commonly used method of diagnosis is a direct microscopic observation (wet mount) of vaginal secretions and, although both rapid and inexpensive, the sensitivity of this technique is generally 50 to 70%. We developed an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Trichomonas vaginalis which is both rapid and sensitive (detection limit of approximately 100 trichomonads per ml). This assay, which employs affinity-purified rabbit anti-T. vaginalis antibodies in a "sandwich" configuration, is simple to perform and is neither interfered with nor appears to cross-react with other microorganisms which are common inhabitants of the urogenital tract. One hundred and seventy-seven consecutive unselected patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases were evaluated for trichomoniasis by a broth culture technique monitored for up to 7 days (and considered here to be the standard for positivity), the conventional wet mount method, a solid culture procedure, and the ELISA. Of these, 84 were positive by culture; 33 were positive by the wet mount; and despite the fact that the vaginal specimens were diluted 20-fold during the culture procedures prior to testing in the ELISA, 65 were positive by ELISA. In addition to exhibiting a sensitivity of 77%, the specificity of the ELISA was 100%. These results demonstrate that the ELISA is a significant improvement over the wet mount method for the diagnosis of trichomoniasis.