| Test: | Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Antibodies, IgG & IgM |
| Synonym: | Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) Antibodies, IgG & IgM by ELISA |
| Method: | Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay |
| Availability: | Monday-Friday; results in 1-5 days |
| Specimen: | Blood |
| Collection Device: | 6.0 mL Gold (SST) tube |
| Volume: | 1.0 mL serum (Min: 0.5 mL) |
| Storage/Transport: | Refrigerate; separate serum from cells ASAP |
| Unacceptable: | Severely lipemic, contaminated, or hemolyzed samples |
| Specimen Stability: | After separation from cells, ambient, not stable; refrigerated, 2 weeks; frozen, 1 year Avoid multiple freeze/thaw cycles |
| Reference Interval: | IgG: < 1:64: Negative - No significant level ofIgG detected. 1:64 - 1:128: Low Positive - Presence of IgG detected, suggestive of current or past infection. ≥ 1:256: Positive - IgG detected, suggestive of recent or current infection. IgM: < 1:64: Negative - No significant level of IgM detected. ≥ 1:64: Positive - IgM detected, which may indicate a current or recent infection. However, low levels of IgM antibodies may occasionally persist for more than 12 months post-infection. |
| Reportable Disease: | |
| Comments: | Acute and convalescent samples must be labeled as such; parallel testing is preferred and convalescent samples must be received within 30 days from receipt of the acute samples. Please mark sample plainly as "acute" or "convalescent." The best evidence for current infection is a significant change on two appropriately timed specimens, where both tests are done in the same laboratory at the same time. The CDC does not use IgM results for routine diagnostic testing of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, as the response may not be specific for the agent (resulting in false positives) and the IgM response may be persistent from past infection. |
| Revised: | 2/13/2012 |