Comparison of complement fixation and hemagglutination inhibition assays for detecting antibody responses following influenza virus vaccination.
Complement fixation (CF) was compared to hemagglutination inhibition (HI) as a method for identifying antibody responses to influenza virus vaccination. CF assays were performed at two different laboratories using paired (pre- and postvaccination) sera from 38 vaccinated laboratory employees; HI assays were performed at a third laboratory. As expected, most vaccinees (31/38 = 82%) responded to at least one of three influenza virus antigens as measured by HI. In contrast, only 21% (8/38) of vaccinees showed a response by CF at laboratory 1, and only 29% (11/38) showed a response by CF at laboratory 2. These findings indicate that due to low sensitivity, CF assays should not be used to assess the antibody response to influenza virus vaccination.
Prince
Harry E
HE
Focus Technologies, Cypress, California 90630, USA. hprince@focusanswers.com
Leber
Amy L
AL
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D003168:Complement Fixation Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007252:Influenza Vaccines