Indirect fluorescent-antibody and quantitative agar-gel immunodiffusion tests for the serological diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis.

The value of various serological tests in the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis was studied. Quantitative agar-gel immunodiffusion and indirect immunofluorescent tests were performed, and the results were compared with those of complement fixation and qualitative agar-gel procedures. The quantitative immunodiffusion procedure was found to serve as the simplest and safest quantitative test that could be performed for evaluation purposes, whereas the indirect fluorescent-antibody test gave nonspecific reactions and, as such, proved unsuitable.