Patent ID: 7713715

Claim:
A method for diagnosing the presence in an animal of an infection caused by a particular organism comprising obtaining a test sample from the animal, exposing the test sample to a multiplicity of free surface antigens of the organism that have been obtained by removing the antigens from the surface of the organism without disrupting the organism and removing internal antigens from the organism, permitting an antibody in the test sample that binds to an antibody binding site on a surface antigen of the organism to bind to the antibody binding site, and determining if the test sample contains an antibody that binds to the free surface antigens of the organism by detecting the presence of one or more antibodies in the test sample that are bound to the free surface antigens, thereby diagnosing the presence of an infection in the animal due to the particular organism, wherein the organism is one that is capable of eliciting an antibody response in an animal infected thereby and wherein surface antigens may be obtained from the organism by gentle dislodgment.