What is ELISA TEST?

Question

What is gonorrhoea & syphilis? I Know these r disease,but wat r the symptoms of these,how it cause?? Wat is the remedy for it?

Answer 1

The Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay, or (ELISA), is a biochemical technique used mainly in immunology to detect the presence of an antibody or an antigen in a sample. It uses two antibodies. One antibody is specific to the antigen. The other reacts to antigen-antibody complexes, and is coupled to an enzyme. This second antibody, which accounts for "enzyme-linked" in the test's name, can also cause a chromogenic or fluorogenic substrate to produce a signal. Because the ELISA can be performed to evaluate either the presence of antigen or the presence of antibody in a sample, it is a useful tool both for determining serum antibody concentrations (such as with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV test or West Nile Virus) and also for detecting the presence of antigen. It has also found applications in the food industry in detecting potential food allergens such as milk, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and eggs.

The steps of the general, "indirect," ELISA for determining serum antibody concentrations are:

Apply a sample of known antigen to a surface, often the well of a microtiter plate. The antigen is fixed to the surface to render it immobile.
The plate wells or other surface are then coated with serum samples of unknown antibody concentration, usually diluted in another species' serum. The use of non-human serum prevents non-specific antibodies in the patient's blood from binding to the antigen.
The plate is washed, so that unbound antibody is removed. After this wash, only the antibody-antigen complexes remain attached to the well.
The second antibodies, which will bind to any antigen-antibody complexes, are added to the wells. These second antibodies are coupled to the substrate-modifying enzyme.
Wash the plate, so that excess unbound antibodies are removed.
Apply a substrate which is converted by the enzyme to elicit a chromogenic or fluorescent signal.
View/quantify the result using a spectrophotometer or other optical device.
The enzyme acts as an amplifier; even if only few enzyme-linked antibodies remain bound, the enzyme molecules will produce many signal molecules.

ELISA may be run in a qualitative or quantitative format. Qualitative results provide a simple positive or negative result for a sample. The cutoff between positive and negative is determined by the analyst and may be statistical. Two or three times the standard deviation is often used to distinguish positive and negative samples. In quantitative ELISA, the optical density or fluorescent units of the sample is interpolated into a standard curve, which is typically a serial dilution of the target.


[edit] Sandwich ELISA

A sandwich ELISA. (1) Plate is coated with a capture antibody; (2) sample is added, and any antigen present binds to capture antibody; (3) detecting antibody is added, and binds to antigen; (4) enzyme-linked secondary antibody is added, and binds to detecting antibody; (5) substrate is added, and is converted by enzyme to detectable form.A less-common variant of this technique, called "sandwich" ELISA, is used to detect sample antigen. The steps are as follows:

Prepare a surface to which a known quantity of antibody is bound.
Apply the antigen-containing sample to the plate.
Wash the plate, so that unbound antigen is removed.
Apply the enzyme-linked antibodies which are also specific to the antigen.
Wash the plate, so that the unbound antibodies are removed.
Apply a chemical which is converted by the enzyme into a fluorescent signal.
View the result: if it fluoresces, then the sample contained antigen.
The image to the right, includes an additional step, the addition of 'detecting antibody', used to avoid the expensive conjugation process that would be necessary to create enzyme-linked antibodies for every antigen one might want to detect. By using an enzyme-linked antibody that binds the Fc region of other antibodies, this same enzyme-linked antibody can be used in a variety of situations.


[edit] Competitive ELISA
A third use of ELISA is through competitive binding. The steps for this ELISA are somewhat different than the first two examples:

Unlabeled antibody is incubated in the presence of its antigen.
These bound antibody/antigen complexes are then added to an antigen coated well.
The plate is washed, so that unbound antibody is removed. (The more antigen in the sample, the less antibody will be able to bind to the antigen in the well, hence "competition.")
The secondary antibody, specific to the primary antibody is added. This second antibody is coupled to the enzyme.
A substrate is added, and remaining enzymes elicit a chromogenic or fluorescent signal.
For competitive ELISA, the higher the original antigen concentration, the weaker the eventual signal.




Gonorrhoea

Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection. It is sexually transmitted and can infect the cervix, urethra, rectum, anus and throat.

Signs and symptoms
Symptoms of infection may show up at anytime between 1 and 14 days after exposure. It is possible to be infected with gonorrhoea and have no symptoms. Men are far more likely to notice symptoms than women.

Women
Symptoms of gonorrhoea can include:

a change in vaginal discharge. This may increase, change to a yellow or greenish colour and develop a strong smell
a pain or burning sensation when passing urine
irritation and/or discharge from the anus.
Men
Symptoms may include:

a yellow or white discharge from the penis
irritation and/or discharge from the anus
inflammation of the testicles and prostate gland.
How gonorrhoea is passed on
by penetrative sex (when the penis enters the vagina, mouth, or anus)
and less often by:

rimming (where a person uses their mouth and tongue to stimulate another person's anus)
inserting your fingers into an infected vagina, anus or mouth and then putting them into your own without washing your hands in between.
Where to go for help
Your local NHS sexual health (GUM) clinic.

In the UK, you can find details of your nearest NHS sexual health clinic in the phone book under genito-urinary medicine (GUM), sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or venereal diseases (VD). Or phone your local hospital and ask for the 'special' or GUM clinic. Our help and advice page links to websites which can tell you where to find your nearest clinic.

You will get free, confidential advice and treatment. You can go to any clinic anywhere in the country - you don't have to go to a local one - and you don't have to be referred by your GP. (Non-NHS sexual health clinics may not always offer the full range of services which are available at NHS sexual health clinics.)

Your own GP.
If you are in the UK, go to www.playingsafely.co.uk to find details of STI clinics.
If you are in the USA, go to http://herpes-coldsores.com/support/std_clinic_us.htm, from this site you can also find details of STD clinics in Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and India.
The tests for gonorrhoea
An examination of your genital area is carried out by a doctor or a nurse.
Samples are taken, using a cotton-wool or spongy swab, from any places which may be infected - the cervix, urethra, anus or throat.
Women are given an internal pelvic examination.
A sample of urine may be taken.
None of these tests are painful, but may sometimes be uncomfortable.

If you have had anal sex, it is important to tell the doctor so that a swab can be taken from your rectum. Also tell the doctor if you have had oral sex.

You can have a test as soon as you think you might have been in contact with gonnorhoea.

Diagnosis and treatment
Samples taken during the examination are looked at under a microscope to check for gonorrhoea infection. In some clinics, the result is available immediately. A second sample is sent to a laboratory for testing, the result of which is available usually within one week. Treatment is easy and essential. You will be given an antibiotic in tablet, liquid or injection form.

If you are allergic to any antibiotics, or if there is any possibility that you may be pregnant, it is important that you tell your doctor. It is important to complete your course of treatment.

If you are told you have gonorrhoea, you may be asked to see a health adviser who will explain the infection to you and answer your questions. The health adviser will also ask you about your sexual partner(s), so that they can get a check-up and treatment if necessary.

You should not have penetrative sex until you have returned to the clinic and been given the all-clear by the doctor. The doctor or health adviser will tell you about which sexual activities are safe.

Follow-up
Once you have completed your course of treatment for gonorrhoea, you should return to the clinic or GP for a check-up.

Some types of gonorrhoea are resistant to certain antibiotics, especially if you acquired the disease abroad. Further tests will be done to make sure that the infection has cleared. If it has not, you will be prescribed a different antibiotic.

Complications
Women
If left untreated gonorrhoea can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This is inflammation of the fallopian tubes which can cause fever, lower abdominal pain and backache. Sex may be uncomfortable. PID can cause a woman to become infertile or have an ectopic pregnancy. A separate factsheet on PID is available.

If you're pregnant and you have gonorrhoea when your baby is born, you could pass the infection on. Also your baby could be born with a gonoccocal eye infection. This must be treated with antibiotics as it can cause blindness. But it is better for you to be treated before the birth.

Men
Gonorrhoea can cause inflammation of the testicles and the prostate gland, which causes pain. Without treatment a narrowing of the urethra or abscesses can develop.

Once gonorrhoea has been successfully treated, it will not come back unless you become reinfected.

Remember, after treatment, using condoms during sex can reduce your risk of getting or passing on sexually transmitted infections.





Syphilis

Syphilis is not a common infection in the UK but it is more common in some other countries. It is a bacterial infection. It is usually sexually transmitted, but may also be passed from an infected mother to her unborn child.

Signs and symptoms
The signs and symptoms of syphilis are the same in both men and women. They can be difficult to recognise and may take up to 3 months to show after having sexual contact with an infected person. Syphilis has several stages. The primary and secondary stages are very infectious.

Primary stage
One or more painless sores appear at the place where the syphilis bacteria entered the body. On average, this will be after 21 days. You may not notice them.

These sores can appear anywhere on the body but mainly:

on the vulva (lips of the vagina), the clitoris and around the opening of the urethra (the water passage)
on the cervix (neck of the womb) in women and on the penis and foreskin in men
around the anus and mouth (both sexes)
The sore (or sores) is very infectious and may take from 2 to 6 weeks to heal.

Secondary stage
If the syphilis infection remains untreated the secondary stage usually occurs 3 to 6 weeks after the appearance of sores. The symptoms include:

a non-itchy rash covering the whole body or appearing in patches
flat, warty-looking growths on the vulva in women and around the anus in both sexes
a flu-like illness, a feeling of tiredness and loss of appetite, accompanied by swollen glands (this can last for weeks or months)
white patches on the tongue or roof of the mouth
patchy hair loss
When these symptoms are present, syphilis is very infectious and may be sexually transmitted to a partner.

Treatment at any time during these first two stages of syphilis will cure the infection.

Latent stage
Latent syphilis refers to the presence of untreated syphilis. You can have no symptoms or signs of the infection, which is diagnosed by a positive blood test. If left untreated, you may develop symptomatic late syphilis. This would usually develop after more than 10 years. It is then that syphilis can affect the heart, and possibly the nervous system.

If treatment for syphilis is given during the latent stage the infection can be cured. However, if there has been heart or nervous-system damage before treatment is started this may be irreversible.

How syphilis is passed on
Syphilis can be transmitted by:

having sex with someone who has the infection
a mother to her unborn baby
Where to go for help
Your local NHS sexual health (GUM) clinic.

You can find details of your nearest NHS sexual health clinic in the phone book under genito-urinary medicine (GUM), sexually transmitted diseases (STD) or venereal diseases (VD). Or phone your local hospital and ask for the 'special' or GUM clinic. Our help and advice page links to websites which can tell you where to find your nearest clinic.

You will get free, confidential advice and treatment. You can go to any clinic anywhere in the country - you don't have to go to a local one - and you don't have to be referred by your GP. (Non-NHS sexual health clinics may not always offer the full range of services which are available at NHS sexual health clinics.)

Your own GP.
If you are in the UK, go to www.playingsafely.co.uk to find details of STD clinics.
If you are in the USA, go to www.unspeakable.com/locator/index.jsp.
The tests for syphilis
At the clinic the following tests will normally be made:

A blood sample is taken.
If you have a sore, a specimen of fluid is taken from this and looked at under a microscope.
Your genital area and whole body are examined by the doctor.
Samples are taken, using a cotton-wool or spongy swab, from any sores.
Women are given an internal examination.
A sample of urine is taken.
None of these tests should be painful, but they may be slightly uncomfortable.

You can have the test as soon as you think you might have been in contact with syphilis.

Diagnosis and treatment
Samples taken during the examination are looked at under a microscope to check for infection. Samples are sent to a laboratory for testing. The result is usually available within one week.

If you are told that you have syphilis a health adviser will explain the infection to you and answer any questions you may have. You will also be asked about your sexual partner(s), so that, if necessary, they can get treatment too.

If it is suspected that you have the early infectious stages of syphilis, you should not have oral, vaginal or anal sex. You should also not have any kind of sex involving contact between your partner and any sores or rashes you may have until the treatment is completed. Treatment for syphilis is usually a 2-week course of penicillin injections or, in some cases, antibiotic tablets or capsules.

If you are allergic to any antibiotics, or if there is any possibility that you may be pregnant, it is important that you tell your doctor. It is important that you finish any course of treatment. If treatment is interrupted, it may be necessary to start again from the beginning.

Once you have completed your treatment, you will be asked to attend the clinic at regular intervals for blood tests.

Pregnancy and syphilis
In the UK blood tests for syphilis are given to all pregnant women when they visit an ante-natal clinic. If syphilis is found, treatment can safely be given during pregnancy with no risk to the unborn baby. If a woman has untreated syphilis she may pass the infection to her baby in the womb. In some cases this can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.

Once syphilis has been successfully treated, it will not come back unless you become reinfected. However your blood test will be positive in any future tests (e.g. for immigration reasons). Make sure you get a certificate from your clinic explaining about your treatment.

Remember, after treatment, using condoms during sex can reduce your risk of getting or passing on sexually transmitted infections.

Answer 2

An ELISA test is a complicated assay/test which detects specific diseases. Google it for the details. It is one way of testing for Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Gonorrhea is transmitted thru sexual contact with an infected person. A whitish-yellowish foul-smelling discharge is usually the sign. Syphilis is also sexually spread. This is characterized by painful sores on the genitals and elsewhere in the body. Remedy is to see a doctor who will prescribe medications. Condoms greatly reduce the risk of contracting these STDs.

Answer 3

What Is Elisa

Answer 4

I'm not a doctor, but I have educated myself about HIV! First of all the Antibodies for HIV (only if you are infected), will show within 3-6 months of being infected. If you were infected that means this test you took would of showed up POSITIVE! If this is true what you're saying about your test, that means you're NEGATIVE! But if you're still unsure go to one of the free clinics and take the HIV test there. God Luck and always protect yourself with a condom! Trust no one! People look nice and clean on the outside, but on the inside they could be deadly!

Answer 5

elisa is an hiv test
gonnorrhea is an std and treated with rocephin
syphillis is also a devastating std and has 4 stages and tx if caught early is penicillin.