Indirect immunofluorescence assay for antibody to germ tube of Candida albicans--a new diagnostic test.

Indirect immunofluorescent and agglutination assay were used to study the anti-Candida albicans reactivities in the serum of 13 normal subjects and 14 patients infected with C. albicans. A significant increase in anti-C. albicans seroreactivity was observed during infection with this organism but the increase in the anti-germ tube immunofluorescence titre was the more marked. It is evident that the anti-germ tube immunofluorescence assay is more discriminatory for C. albicans infection than the conventional agglutination assay.