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. 1996 Jan;3(1):79–83. doi: 10.1128/cdli.3.1.79-83.1996

Evaluation of immunoassays for detection of antibodies to human herpesvirus 7.

J B Black 1, T F Schwarz 1, J L Patton 1, K Kite-Powell 1, P E Pellett 1, S Wiersbitzky 1, R Bruns 1, C Müller 1, G Jäger 1, J A Stewart 1
PMCID: PMC170251  PMID: 8770508

Abstract

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA), an immunoblot assay (IB), and an indirect immunofluorescence assay were developed for detection of human herpesvirus 7 (HHV-7) antibodies in human serum. Cross-absorption studies with EIA or IFA using HHV-7 and human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) antigens indicated that most human sera contain cross-reactive HHV-6 and HHV-7 antibodies and that the degree of cross-reactivity varies between individual serum specimens. Inhibition of homologous antibody activity by absorption with heterologous virus ranged from 0 to 57% by EIA. However, for every sample tested, absorption with homologous virus removed more activity than did heterologous virus. An 89-kDa protein was identified as an HHV-7-specific serologic marker by IB. Activity to this protein was not removed by absorption with HHV-6 antigen. Of the three assays, the EIA was the most sensitive (94%), while the IB was the most specific (94%). Approximately 80% of specimens collected from German adults and children older than 2 years were positive for HHV-7 antibodies by these assays.

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Selected References

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