Acute-phase, indirect fluorescent antibody procedure for diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

An indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) technique was developed to detect IgG and IgM-specific antibodies to Mycoplasma pneumoniae. The presence of IgM-specific mycoplasma antibody was interpreted as reflecting active infection in patients with atypical pneumonia or other clinically compatible illness. The procedure is suitable for use in routine clinical laboratories, correlated well with complement fixation test results and did not show cross reaction with Legionella pneumophila antibody. The ready availability of an acute-phase procedure for diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection permits therapeutic judgments based on testing of the acute serum sample.