The invention relates to a technology by which antibodies directed to
sources of infection in body fluids can be assayed with high accuracy,
expediency and specificity. More particularly, the invention provides an
antibody immunoassay method in which the antigen-antibody reaction
between a target antibody in a sample and an assay antigen is conducted
in the presence of an E. coli component and an antibody assay method
which comprises using a reagent having a specific affinity for the Fc
region of an antibody IgG as the antibody assay reagent. The invention
further provides an antibody assay device comprising a solid-phase
support having at least (a) a first region to which a sample is applied
and (b) a second region where the antibody in the sample is reacted as
disposed in such an arrangement that the sample is wicked from the first
region to the second region and a labeling means for detection of the
result of the reaction in the second region, characterized in that the
(b) second region is provided with (i) a test site in which a ligand for
capturing the target antibody to be assayed is immobilized and (ii) a
control site in which a ligand for capturing an arbitrary antibody
occurring in the sample is immobilized.