title: Anti-EBNA-1 (carboxy-half) IgG antibodies as a seroepidemiological marker for Epstein-Barr virus infection.
abstract: A population of 2,024 voluntary blood donors was tested for anti-EBNA-1 IgG and anti-VCA IgG serum antibodies to define the EBV infection rate and to compare two different epidemiological markers. Initial screening was performed with a sensitive EBNA-1-IgG ELISA based on recombinant antigen (Biotest) and a VCA-IgG ELISA based on conventional antigen. Both ELISAs had concordant results in 90.4% of the sera. The infection rate was found to be 96.8%. The expected immune status VCA+/EBNA+ was observed in 98.1% of the seropositives. The comparison of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values between the two screening assays underlines the superiority of the EBNA-1 ELISA. The marker anti-EBNA-1 IgG as detected by a sensitive ELISA (Biotest anti-EBV recombinant) is suitable for defining previous EBV infection (positive predictive value 99.8%). The high infection rate in the adult population, however, renders the supply with EBV-negative blood rather difficult.
authors.affiliation: Biotest AG, Research Department, Dreieich, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nebel-Schickel
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hinderer
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saavedra
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schmutzler
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vornhagen
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Sonneborn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001782:Blood Donors; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D018579:Patient Selection; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019309:Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G