title: Comparison of three commercially available assays for detection of varicella-zoster virus antibody.
abstract: Three commercially available diagnostic assays for the detection of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus were evaluated to determine which would be the most suitable for our clinical laboratory. Three different methods were examined: an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), latex agglutination (LA), and an indirect fluorescent-antibody technique. For the 141 serum specimens tested, the ELISA had an agreement of 90.1% and LA had an agreement of 92.2% with the indirect immunofluorescent-antibody technique. The ELISA had a lower sensitivity (85.6%) than LA (100.0%), but suffered from a low specificity (78.4%) compared with the ELISA (98.0%).
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007841:Latex Fixation Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic