Evaluation of an ELISA for the diagnosis of brucellosis

Brucela serology using ELISA and standard agglutination test was performed on 23 patients with prolonged fever where the test was requested, on 26 randomly chosen patients with prolonged fever where it was not requested and on 17 controls. ELISA was positive in 39.1, 26.9 and 0 per cent respectively in these groups. Brucellosis may often be unsuspected because of its varied clinical manifestations and may be a more important cause of fever than previously considered. Our data reaffirm that ELISA is superior to the standard agglutination test for the diagnosis of brucellosis.