Detection of mycobacterium tuberculosis soluble antigens in cerebrospinal fluids of patients with tuberculosis meningitis by a capture ELISA method

A capture ELISA assay was used to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis soluble antigens in CSFs of patients with tuberculous meningitis by production of rabbit polyclonal anti-BCG antibody.CSF specimens from 16 clinically proven cases of tuberculous meningitis, 25 from bacterial meningitis and 50 from normal individuals were collected and assayed by this method. The means of the optical density [OD] for patients with tuberculous meningitis, bacterial meningitis and normal individuals were found to be 0.72 +/- 0.38, 0.27 +/- 0.08 and 0.24 +/- 0.07, respectively. The specificity and sensitivity of this method were 88% and 68% respectively, therefore, the use of this test for rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis is recommended