Abstract
Diagnostic microbiology, first by the visualization of organisms followed by culture of pathogenic organisms, developed at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The detection of specific antibody as a means of diagnosing infection followed. One of the most enduring of these antibody assays has been the complement-fixation test, which is still in use 40 years after its development by Bradstreet and Taylor in 1962 [1]. Despite the development of more sensitive assays such as RIA and ELISA, the serological diagnosis of many respiratory infections is still often achieved by means of the complement-fixation test. Some of these pathogens such as influenza viruses are also diagnosed by culture although obtaining acute phase specimens for culture is problematic. Other organisms such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Coxiella burnetii, although cultivable are seldom diagnosed by this means because most diagnostic laboratories are not able to perform culture routinely. Diagnosis of these treatable infections is usually made by use of the complement-fixation test.
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