The study comparatively evaluated serological assays, namely, Weil Felix assay, and IgM ELISA with the gold-standard immunofluorescence test (IFAT) for the sensitive and specific serodiagnosis of scrub typhus infection in occupationally exposed groups of humans. A total of 78 serum samples collected from persons affected with various ailments and belonging to different risk groups were screened in the study. Out of the 78 serum samples tested, a total of 17, 26, and 47 samples turned out to be positive by IFAT, IgM ELISA, and Weil Felix test, respectively. The Weil Felix assay could not serve as an ideal test for screening scrub typhus infection owing to its poor sensitivity and specificity in comparison with IFAT. IgM-ELISA could be an initial screening test to detect scrub typhus suspected patient in limited resource settings.

该研究比较了血清学测定法，即 Weil Felix 测定法和 IgM ELISA 与金标准免疫荧光试验 (IFAT)，对职业暴露人群中恙虫病感染的敏感和特异血清学诊断。该研究共筛选了 78 份来自患有各种疾病且属于不同风险组的人的血清样本。在检测的 78 份血清样本中，IFAT、IgM ELISA 和 Weil Felix 试验分别检测出 17、26 和 47 份样本呈阳性。由于与 IFAT 相比，Weil Felix 检测的敏感性和特异性较差，因此不能作为筛查恙虫病感染的理想检测方法。 IgM-ELISA 可以作为在资源有限的情况下检测恙虫病疑似患者的初步筛查试验。