Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of serum antibody in children vaccinated with Japanese encephalitis vaccine.

Serum antibodies in children who had been vaccinated with Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization (N) and hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) tests. Of 20 serum samples obtained after two shots of JE vaccine in the first year, all but one showed positive titers in the ELISA and N test, but five showed negative titers in the HI test. All 12 serum samples obtained after booster immunization with JE vaccine in the second year showed positive and considerably higher titers in all three tests. Moreover, a high correlation was found between the ELISA, N and HI titers. These results indicate that the ELISA is useful for detecting antibodies in subjects immunized with JE vaccine.