title: Estimates of mumps seroprevalence may be influenced by antibody specificity and serologic method.
abstract: Neutralizing antibodies are assumed to be essential for protection against mumps virus infection, but their measurement is labor- and time-intensive. For this reason, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are typically used to measure mumps-specific IgG levels. However, since there is poor correlation between mumps neutralization titers and ELISAs that measure the presence of mumps-specific IgG levels, ELISAs that better correlate with neutralization are needed. To address this issue, we measured mumps antibody levels by plaque reduction neutralization, by a commercial ELISA (whole-virus antigen), and by ELISAs specific for the mumps nucleoprotein and hemagglutinin. The results indicate that differences in the antibody response to the individual mumps proteins could partially explain the lack of correlation among various serologic tests. Furthermore, the data indicate that some seropositive individuals have low levels of neutralizing antibody. If neutralizing antibody is important for protection, this suggests that previous estimates of immunity based on whole-virus ELISAs may be overstated.
authors.affiliation: Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: Donald R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Latner
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGrew
authors.forename: Nobia J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Sun B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Sowers
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Bellini
authors.forename: Carole J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hickman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009107:Mumps / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009109:Mumps virus / Q000276:immunology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral