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IgM antiavian antibodies in sera from patients with pigeon breeder's disease

The authors' objective was to study the presence of IgM antiavian antibodies in sera from patients with pigeon breeder’s disease. We studied 93 patients with interstitial lung disease admitted for the assessment of pigeon breeder's disease. Eighty sera from healthy donors with no history of bird contact and 47 asymptomatic pigeon breeders were included as controls. The presence of IgM, IgG, and IgA antiavian antibodies was detected by ELISA and Western blot using avian‐pooled serum antigen. Fifty‐three patients were classified as having definite pigeon breeder's disease, whereas 40 did not fulfill these diagnostic criteria. The levels of IgM antiavian‐antibodies in pigeon breeder’s disease by ELISA exceeded both the values of healthy subjects with no history of avian contact (P = 2.5 × 10–8) and the results of asymptomatic breeders (P = 0.03). Positive IgA antiavian antibodies were the most frequent abnormalities in pigeon breeder's disease showing values over the reference levels of control groups that reach significant statistical differences. Both precipitin‐positive and ‐negative samples demonstrated IgM reactivity. IgM antiavian antibodies were confirmed by Western blot. A relationship of IgM positive tests with a recent history of avian antigen exposure and acute disease was found. Additionally, the positive IgM group included patients having subacute and chronic lung disease. Antiavian antibodies have previously been considered of minor significance in hypersensitivity pneumonitis; nevertheless, recent studies support their use in clinical diagnosis. Although no specific laboratory tests can confirm the diagnosis in pigeon breeder’s disease, IgM antiavian antibodies may be useful for detecting recent antigen exposure and the acute stage of the disease. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 14:201–207, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.