agglutination titres

Last reviewed 01/2018

Serum agglutination for antibodies are the commonest method of diagnosing brucellosis. Titres are regarded as:

  • diagnostic if:
    • greater than 1:160 in non-epidemic areas
    • 1:640 in endemic areas
  • indicative if
    • 1:40 in non-endemic zones

Cross reactivity with other antibodies occurs. Complement fixation tests, ELISA and immunoradiometric assay may be needed to confirm diagnosis.