Rapid Agglutination Test as a Possible Aid in the Laboratory Diagnosis of Ornithosis

Preparation of psittacosis antigens for complement fixation and rapid agglutination tests from allantoic fluid of developing chick embryo infected with psittacosis virus is outlined. Nineteen psittacosis positive serums, as determined by complement fixation test, from pigeons with latent ornithosis infection, gave positive reactions with rapid agglutination antigen. One hundred twenty-one normal pigeon serums and 16 human serums, which included 7 Wassermann positive, 1 gonorrheal serum, 3 lymphogranulomatous serums, 2 typhoid serums, 1 from a patient with undulant fever, and 2 normal human serums failed to react with the agglutination antigen. The latter observation is interpreted as some evidence for the specificity of the test. The possibility of the use of rapid agglutination test as an aid in diagnosis and epidemiological study of ornithosis is suggested.