THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT; FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS;THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS;THE GOVERNORS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
There is provided a method of detecting in a sample the presence of an anti-M and/or anti-A and/or anti-C/Y antibody, the method comprising contacting the sample with a diagnostic conjugate provided according to the invention, comprising an oligosaccharide which comprises at least two units of 4,6-dideoxy-4-acylamido-a- pyranose and comprising at least one -(1-3)-link between adjacent 4,6-dideoxy-4-acylamido-a-pyranose units, in which the carbon at position 5 in the pyranose is linked to an R group, where R is independently selected from -CH2OH, -H or an alkyl group having at least one C atom, the oligosaccharide being covalently linked to a non-saccharide molecule or to a surface.
