title: Evaluation of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies to Junin virus in rodents.
abstract: Junin virus is the etiological agent of Argentine hemorrhagic fever, a serious rodent-borne disease. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect Junin virus IgG antibodies in rodents was evaluated using sera from 27 Calomys musculinus and five Calomys laucha, inoculated experimentally with a live attenuated strain of this arenavirus. The test performance was compared against an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The ELISA had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and a reproducibility of 87.9% for samples with titers above the selected cut-off value. IFA had lower sensitivity (53%) with the same specificity. The ELISA results were similar, whether carried out on whole blood or serum samples, thus eliminating the need for serum separation. A high correlation (K=0.86) between ELISA and IFA results was obtained from 1011 wild sigmodontine and murine rodents collected within and outside of the Argentine hemorrhagic fever endemic area. These results indicate that Junin virus IgG ELISA is the most suitable assay for detection of Junin virus antibodies in rodent samples.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Virales Humanas Dr. Julio I. Maiztegui, Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud, Monteagudo 2510, (2700) Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina. morales_ma@operamail.com
authors.forename: María A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.forename: Gladys E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Riera
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ambrosio
authors.forename: Delia A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Enría
authors.forename: Marta S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Sabattini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000821:virology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D001117:Arenaviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000662:veterinary*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D018051:Junin virus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D009115:Muridae / Q000097:blood* / Q000821:virology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012376:Rodent Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014709:Vero Cells / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G