A simple and cheaper in house varicella zoster virus antibody indirect ELISA

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo. 2004 May-Jun;46(3):165-8. doi: 10.1590/s0036-46652004000300008. Epub 2004 Jul 20.

Abstract

We have developed a cheaper an simple in house indirect ELISA that uses the live attenuated VZV vaccine as a coating antigen. The alternative ELISA had an agreement of 94% when compared with a commercial VZV ELISA kit. Moreover, our ELISA proved to be more reliable than the kit when assessing true negative samples. By adding a standard serum, we were able to produce results in international units per millilitre. Also, the addition of an extra step with 8M urea allowed the assessment of VZV IgG avidity without excessive costs. The cost per sample to test VZV IgG was 2.7 times cheaper with our ELISA, allowing the testing of many samples without the burden of production of VZV antigen in the laboratory.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies, Viral / analysis*
  • Antibody Affinity / immunology
  • Chickenpox / diagnosis*
  • Cross Reactions
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / economics
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / methods*
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
  • Herpesvirus 3, Human / immunology*
  • Herpesvirus Vaccines / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin G / analysis
  • Infant
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Vaccines, Attenuated / immunology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Herpesvirus Vaccines
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Vaccines, Attenuated