| abstract |
This invention relates to a reagent for detecting an antibody corresponding to an acid-fast bacterium antigen, which comprises at least one compound selected from among mycolic acids, salts thereof, esters thereof, and esters of a fatty acid of at least 14 carbon atoms other than the mycolic acids with a monosaccharide or disaccharide, and a method for detecting an antibody corresponding to an acid-fast bacterium antigen by using said reagent. The diagnosis of an acid-fast bacterium infection according to this detection method is simpler in its procedure than conventional reagents and methods, and the identification of the genus (including the genera Mycobacterium, Nocardia and Rhodococcus) and species of an acid-fast bacterium can be conducted with a very high specificity. Thus it becomes possible to recognize an acid-fast bacterium which is causative of an infection to thereby select a suitable remedy for that infection promptly. |