Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibody to Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia psittaci.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed with use of a strain of Chlamydia trachomatis, lymphogranuloma venereum serotype 2. The ELISA reactions were monitored by absorbance at 492 nm in a spectrophotometer. A positive control method based on one serum dilution was used to assign ELISA titers to the sera. Sera that had been tested with use of complement fixation (CF) and microimmunofluorescence (MIF) tests were examined with ELISA. ELISA was more sensitive than the CF test and as sensitive as the MIF test. Serum pairs that had diagnostic titer rises in the other tests also had such rises in ELISA. ELISA is a simple, sensitive assay for detection of antibody to C. trachomatis.