Which disease is most reliably diagnosed post-mortem using a direct fluorescent antibody test on brain tissue?

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Multiple Choice

Which disease is most reliably diagnosed post-mortem using a direct fluorescent antibody test on brain tissue?

Rabies is diagnosed post-mortem most reliably with a direct fluorescent antibody test on brain tissue because the test directly detects rabies virus antigen in neural cells. The procedure uses fluorescently labeled antibodies that bind specifically to rabies antigen in brain sections; under a fluorescence microscope, infected neurons illuminate clearly, giving a definitive result. This tissue-based antigen detection is highly specific and remains the standard (gold standard) for confirming rabies after death, making it more reliable than other approaches for the diseases listed. Tetanus, caused by toxin rather than a brain pathogen, would not produce a positive signal with this test, and while other diseases can be investigated in brain tissue, they do not yield the same universally reliable fluorescent signal for diagnosis as rabies does.

Rabies is diagnosed post-mortem most reliably with a direct fluorescent antibody test on brain tissue because the test directly detects rabies virus antigen in neural cells. The procedure uses fluorescently labeled antibodies that bind specifically to rabies antigen in brain sections; under a fluorescence microscope, infected neurons illuminate clearly, giving a definitive result. This tissue-based antigen detection is highly specific and remains the standard (gold standard) for confirming rabies after death, making it more reliable than other approaches for the diseases listed. Tetanus, caused by toxin rather than a brain pathogen, would not produce a positive signal with this test, and while other diseases can be investigated in brain tissue, they do not yield the same universally reliable fluorescent signal for diagnosis as rabies does.

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