title: Evaluation of a combined lysate/recombinant antigen anti-HTLV-I/II ELISA in high and low endemic areas of HTLV-I/II infection.
abstract: The Wellcozyme HTLV-I/II ELISA (Murex Diagnostics) was evaluated in 7800 samples of various serum panels. Repeat activity was found by Wellcozyme in (A) 1/2181 (0.05%) Dutch blood donors, (B) 44/3036 (1.4%) Curaçao (Caribbean area) blood donors, (C) 46/2533 (1.8%) individuals of different Ethiopian population subsets, (D) 30/30 (100%) confirmed anti-HTLV-I positive samples and (E) 20/20 (100%) HTLV-II PCR-positive samples. All 91 Wellcozyme-positive samples were tested for confirmation by Western blot (WB, Diagnostic Biotechnology). Among Wellcozyme HTLV-I/II ELISA-positive individuals, HTLV-I/II WB positivity was found in 0/1 Dutch blood donors, 40/44 (88.9%) Curaçao blood donors and 20/46 (43.5%) Ethiopian individuals. HTLV-I positivity was found in 40 (1.3%) WB-positive Curaçao blood donors and in 9 (0.35%) Ethiopian individuals. HTLV-II positivity was found in 11 (0.43%) WB-positive Ethiopian individuals. The Wellcozyme HTLV-I/II ELISA had a specificity of 99.95% in Dutch blood donors and a sensitivity of 100% on confirmed HTLV-I- and HTLV-II-positive samples. In Ethiopia 55% of the HTLV-I/II WB-positive individuals were exclusively HTLV-II positive, whereas in Curaçao no HTLV-II infections were found.
authors.affiliation: Red Cross Blood Bank Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vrielink
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sisay
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Reesink
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Woerdeman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Winkel
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: de Leeuw
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Lelie
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: van der Poel
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies; D015486:HTLV-I Antigens; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins