Noninvasive Detection of Antibodies to Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Types 1 and 2 by Use of Oral Fluid [Immunoassays]

In this study, an IgG antibody capture EIA was developed and validated to detect anti-HTLV-1/2 IgG in OF. OF and plasma specimens were obtained from seropositive HTLV-1/2-infected patients attending the National Centre for Human Retrovirology (n = 131) and from HTLV-1/2-uninfected individuals (n = 64). The assay showed good reproducibility and high diagnostic sensitivity (100%) and specificity (100%) using both OF and plasma. The Murex HTLV I+II commercial assay was evaluated and did not detect anti-HTLV-1/2 IgG in 14% (5/36) of OF specimens from seropositive donors. The reactivities of OF and plasma in the IgG capture correlated strongly (r = 0.9290) and were not significantly affected by delayed extraction when held between 3°C and 45°C for up to 7 days to simulate field testing. The use of OF serological screening for HTLV-1/2 infection could facilitate large-scale seroprevalence studies, enabling active surveillance of infection on a population level.

Source: Journal of Clinical Microbiology - November 21, 2019 Category: Microbiology Authors: Woo, T., Rosadas, C., Ijaz, S., Dicks, S., Tosswill, J. H. C., Tedder, R. S., Taylor, G. P. Tags: Immunoassays Source Type: research