Comparison of passive hemagglutination with Turkey erythrocyte assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and counterimmunoelectrophoresis assay for serological evaluation of tetanus immunity.

Antibody titers to tetanus toxin in human sera were assayed by passive hemagglutination with turkey erythrocytes, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and counterimmunoelectrophoresis. The first two of these tests were shown to be the most sensitive for antibody detection, having the same range of sensitivity and reproducibility. The antibody levels determined by these assays were up to 400-fold higher than those determined by counterimmunoelectrophoresis. The turkey erythrocyte hemagglutination assay requires only 40 min, whereas the immunosorbent assay method requires 24 h. These results suggest that the hemagglutination assay is the more appropriate method for rapid and sensitive determination of tetanus antibody levels.