Farmers lung: a three year survey and comparison of ELISA and CIEP techniques in antibody detection.

The incidence of detection of antibodies against antigens derived from two thermophilic actinomycetes in patients clinically suspected of having Farmer's Lung was assessed. Approximately 25% of samples submitted over a three year period were found to be positive in either the ELISA test or the CIEP test for antigens derived from M. faeni and T. vulgaris. The ELISA test proved to be more sensitive than the CIEP test in the detection of antibodies directed against both organisms.