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Evaluation of a recombinant line blot for diagnosis of Epstein-Barr Virus compared with ELISA, using immunofluorescence as reference method

2001; Elsevier BV; Volume: 93; Issue: 1-2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0166-0934(00)00301-3

1879-0984

Barbara C. Gärtner, Johannes Fischinger, Klaus Roemer, Matthew Mak, Birgit Fleurent, Nikolaus Mueller‐Lantzsch,

Parvovirus B19 Infection Studies

A commercial line blot using recombinant antigens was compared with a commercial ELISA and 'in-house' IFA (reference test). Two panels were evaluated: Panel A was selected to distinguish between primary infections (89), past infections (20) and seronegatives (8) in immunocompetent individuals. In panel B, patients with a high number of reactivations were included: immunosuppressed patients (37), lymphoma (19), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (10), chronic fatigue syndrome (14). Blood donors (43) and cross-reactive sera (29) were added as controls. Line blot and IFA were concordant in 94% of primary infections, 100% of seronegatives and 100% of past infections, similar to ELISA. Results differed significantly with regard to reactivations. When compared with IFA, the incidence of reactivations was overestimated by the blot, 24 and 58% in blood donors and cross-reactive sera, respectively. ELISA showed a similar problems with 21 and 34% indeterminate results, respectively. The line blot is easy to carry out, has a good concordance with the reference IFA for primary infections, and is, therefore, a sufficient choice for distinguishing primary infection from seronegative and past infection. EBV reactivation assessment will require other methods such as EBV viral load.