Characterization of an immunogenic outer membrane autotransporter protein, Arp, of Bartonella henselae.

Bartonella henselae is a recently recognized pathogenic bacterium associated with cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, and bacillary peliosis. This study describes the cloning, sequencing, and characterization of an antigenic autotransporter gene from B. henselae.

Evaluation of an enzyme immunoassay for detection of immunoglobulin M antibodies to West Nile virus and the importance of background subtraction in detecting nonspecific reactivity.

Since the introduction of West Nile virus (WNV) in the United States in 1999, several assays have become commercially available to detect antibodies against WNV. Capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the detection of WNV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical testing and are available from Focus Diagnostics and PanBio, Inc. The Focus Diagnostics IgM capture ELISA utilizes a background subtraction protocol in order to detect nonspecific reactivity due to rheumatoid factor, heterophile antibodies, or other interfering substances.