Enzyme amplified immunoassay: A novel technique applied to direct detection of Chlamydia trachomatis in clinical specimens

Endocervical swabs from 212 women and urethral swabs from 100 men were tested by the routine methods for McCoy cell culture and simultaneously by a novel enzyme amplified immunoassay test to detect chlamydia antigen. Overall correlation of the amplified test with culture was 96.5 %. The test proved to be a suitable screening procedure for genital chlamydial infection, particularly for large numbers of specimens or in cases in which culture was not available.