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A micro plate Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), developed for detection of antibodies to Streptokinase, was used to analyze 80 human sera. The aim was to provide a simple method for antibody screening that required neither sophisticated equipment nor a high degree of technological skill. Preliminary results show that ELISA is specific, reproducible and sensitive. Comparative evaluation of the ELISA and the coagulum lysis test for antibodies against streptokinase show excellent correlation. We also evaluated the anti-Streptolysin O titer either by conventional method or ELISA. The sensitivity of ELISA for detecting anti-Streptolysin O antibodies was 3-4-fold higher than that of the hemolytic test. The sensitivity of ELISA for detecting anti-streptokinase antibodies was 10-20-fold higher than that of the coagulum lysis. The Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay seems to offer some advantages over the more commonly used coagulum lysis test as far as sensitivity is concerned and potentially it is suggested that this method could be usefully employed clinically in human streptococcal infections.

A microagglutination test for antibody to streptococcal group A polysaccharide (APA) was compared with the anti-streptolysin O (ASO), anti-streptokinase (ASK) and streptozyme (STZ) tests in 162 human sera. Two or more of the following results were considered evidence of a recent streptococcal infection: ASO titre greater than or equal to 333 UI; ASK titre greater than or equal to 160 UI; STZ titre greater than or equal to 200. Sensitivity of the APA test was 70% and it detected 10 sera that would have been missed if the ASO test had been the only test performed. The APA test appears to be particularly useful in laboratories which rely solely on the ASO test for serological evidence of a streptococcal infection.