Sensitivity and specificity of different antibody tests for detecting varicella-zoster virus.

Antibody tests for detecting varicella-zoster virus include the fluorescent-antibody-to-membrane-antigen (FAMA) assay, immune adherence hemagglutination assay (IAHA), enzyme immunoassay (EIA), and the glycoprotein-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (gpELISA). Although FAMA and gpELISA are highly sensitive, FAMA is not available commercially. Therefore, this study was performed to compare potential high-sensitivity tests with commercially available tests. Four antibody tests, FAMA, gpELISA, EIA, and IAHA, were performed using sera collected from 32 children aged 7 months-10 years. Using FAMA as a reference, the sensitivity and specificity of gpELISA, EIA, and IAHA were assessed. Subsequently, using gpELISA as a reference, the positive agreement rate of EIA and IAHA was assessed. On a reference scale with FAMA set at 100%, the sensitivity and specificity of the antibody tests were as follows: gpELISA, 67% and 100%; EIA, 67% and 100%; and IAHA, 47% and 100%, respectively. The positive agreement rates of EIA and IAHA relative to gpELISA were 86% and 64%, respectively. gpELISA had a lower positive rate than did FAMA, and showed comparable sensitivity to that of EIA.

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Copyright © 2020 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of competing interest None.