Direct appraisal of latex agglutination testing, a convenient alternative to enzyme immunoassay for the detection of rotavirus in childhood gastroenteritis, by comparison of two enzyme immunoassays and two latex tests

Abstract

samples from infants and children with gastroenteritis were tested for rotavirus with four techniques: two enzyme immunoassays (Rotazyme; Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ili., and Enzygnost-Rotavirus; Calbiochem-Behring, La Jolla, Calif.) and two latex agglutination tests (Rotalex; Orion research, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., and Slidex Rota-Kit; Biomérieux). All stool samples were also tested for yeasts and bacterial pathogens. Electron microscopy was used to investigate discrepant results. We found 47% positive samples with Enzygnost-Rotavirus, 38% with Rotazyme, 37% with Slidex Rota-Kit, and 34% with Rotalex. No specimen was found positive py Rotazyme only or Slidex Rota-Kit only. On the contrary, 12 samples which were positive with Enzygnost-Rotavirus only and 3 which were positive with Rotalex only were not confirmed as positive by electron microscopy. Both enzyme immunoassays gave 6% equivocal results; Slidex Rota-Kit gave significantly fewer equivocal results than did Rotalex: 2.9% versus 9.7% (P < 0.01). The sensitivity and specificity of latex tests compared favorably witl that of enzyme immunoassays. Latex agglutination tests can be performed by unskilled personnel and are rapid and relatively cheap. They appear to be very suitable for routine laboratory work and may prove useful for large-scale screening in developing countries. * Corresponding author. MATERIALS AND METHODS Clinical specimens. Two hundred and seven stool samples were collected from children (newborn through 15 years of age) with diarrhea at the Centre Gatien de Clocheville, Tours, France, during February and March 1984. Each stool sample was processed and frozen at-20°C until assayed. The specimens were subjected to only one thawing. All stool samples were tested with four techniques to detect HRV. Two commercially available EIAs (Rotazyme; Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill., and Enzygnost-Rotavirus; Calbiochem-Behring, La Jolla, Calif.) and two latex agglutination tests, one commercially available (Rotalex; Orion Research Inc., Cambridge, Mass.) and one under development (Slidex Rota-Kit; Biomérieux), were each performed as recommended by the manufacturer. All specimens were also tested for yeasts

Rotavirus infection in Tanzania: a virological, epidemiological and clinical study among young children

“…Nonspecific reactions are noted to be caused by cross-linkage with protein A of Staphylococcus aureus, haptoglobin, fibronectin and fibres present in stool supernatant fluid. The frequency of non-specific reactions has been found to be around 5% (15). In the present study it was 7% with Rotalex.…”

Hyperimmune cow colostrum reduces diarrhoea due to rotavirus: a double‐blind, controlled clinical trial

“…Patients were recruited for the study mainly in the morning hours. Inclusion criteria were: boys (to enable proper collection of stool unmixed with urine) aged 6-24 months; history of acute watery diarrhoea of less than 3 days; signs of dehydration; and positive stool test for rotavirus by a rapid latex agglutination test (22). The diagnosis of rotavirus was confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).…”

“…Stool samples on admission were first tested for rotavirus antigen using a latex agglutination test (Slidex Rota kit, Biomerieux, France) and later confirmed by ELISA using the Dakopatts kit (DAKO-PATTS A/S, Glostrup, Denmark). The latex kit reagents comprised latex particles sensitized with a rotavirus group-specific monoclonal antibody and control latex which enabled detection of rotavirus antigen by a simple card agglutination technique (22). Serotyping was performed by hybridization of viral doublestranded RNA using 32P-labelled oligonucleotide probes (25).…”

Rapid and accurate viral diagnosis

“…In the past few years, the use of the simple latex agglutination test for the detection of rotavirus has been reported (Cevenini et al, 1983;Haikala et al, 1983). The sensitivity and specificity compare favorably with ELISA (Hughes et al, 1984;Sambourg et al, 1985;Doern et al, 1986). By this technique, latex beads are sensitized to a specific antigen by incubation with immune serum or specific IgG.…”