Development of a dot-immunoenzyme filtration assay for the detection of enterovirus 71 antigen in human serum via immunoglobulin M.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of a rapid, sensitive dot-immunoenzyme filtration assay to detect enterovirus 71 (EV71) antigen in serum samples from paediatric patients with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), through detection of anti-EV71 immunoglobulin (Ig)M.

METHODS

Serum samples from HFMD patients and healthy adult controls were evaluated for the presence of anti-EV71 IgM using a dot-immunoenzyme filtration assay (DIEFA). The results were compared with those obtained using a dot-immunogold filtration assay (DIGFA). The EV71 structural protein VP1 was used as the antigen for both assays.

RESULTS

Serum samples from 72 HFMD patients and 54 healthy controls were evaluated. The DIGFA procedure showed a sensitivity of 98.5% and a specificity of 100%, whereas the DIEFA procedure showed a sensitivity of 98.6% and a specificity of 98.0%. There were no significant differences between the assays in either specificity or sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

The DIEFA procedure developed in this study has potential as a rapid, simple, sensitive and cost-effective screening technique for detecting EV71 antigen in serum samples from patients with HFMD.