Comparison of immunoassays for differentiation of herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 antibodies.
OBJECTIVE
To asses the commercial available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for differentiation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) antibodies.


METHODS
The study was performed between January 1997 to November 2002 in the Division of Virology, Department of Pathological Sciences, Central Manchester Healthcare Trust and University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. Assays based upon type-specific glycoprotein G-1 (gG-1) for HSV-1, and glycoprotein G-2 (gG-2) from HSV-2 were evaluated to differentiate between HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies. Using 5 different ELISA tests, 2 panels of serum samples were tested. Panel one consisted of 88 sera, selected from the serum bank of the Clinical Virology Laboratory, Manchester Royal Infirmary; panel 2 comprised of 90 sera selected from samples collected from Bangladeshi female commercial workers.


RESULTS
The data of this study showed that a high rate of gG-1 based immunoassays ranged from 87.9-100% for sensitivity and 51.5-100% specificity.


CONCLUSIONS
Although there are several immunoassays were claimed to differentiate between HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies, selection of these assays should be carefully interpreted with the overall clinical framework provided by detailed sexual history and genital examination.
Qutub
Mohammed O
MO
Division of Virology, Department of Pathological Sciences, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. mohammedqutub@hotmail.com
Klapper
Paul E
PE
Vallely
Pam J
PJ
Cleator
Gerham M
GM
Mandall
Daniel
D
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C045464:glycoprotein G, herpes simplex virus type 2; C050591:glycoprotein gG-1, herpes simplex virus type 1