New enzyme immunoassay for detecting cryptococcal antigen.

Results obtained with a recently introduced enzyme immunoassay system (EIA) for the detection of cryptococcal antigen (Meridian Diagnostics Inc) were compared with those obtained by a latex agglutination (LA) method (Immuno-Mycologics, Norman, Oklahoma, USA). Fifty four samples were examined. There was 92% agreement between the two methods. One false positive result was obtained with LA, and one sample was inevaluable. The EIA was rapid and simple to perform. There was some evidence that it gave fewer false positive reactions and improved the diagnosis of genuine early cases.

Increasing incidence of cryptococcosis in the United Kingdom.

The incidence of infection with Cryptococcus neoformans in the United Kingdom during the years between 1953 and 1981 is compared with that between 1982 and 1991. The patients were those from whom samples were submitted to the PHLS Mycological Reference Laboratory (MRL), or those in whom the disease was confirmed elsewhere in the United Kingdom and reported to PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (CDSC). In all, 83 cases were identified between 1953 and 1981 and 322 between 1982 and 1991, 201 of which were known to be HIV-associated. The incidence of infection with Cryptococcus neoformans has increased four-fold in the last decade. It is an increasing cause of infection in immunosuppressed patients, most notably those with HIV infection. Currently, 4.0% patients with AIDS in the United Kingdom are known to have developed cryptococcosis.