Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1997 Jul;35(7):1766–1768. doi: 10.1128/jcm.35.7.1766-1768.1997

Differentiation of primary from nonprimary genital herpes infections by a herpes simplex virus-specific immunoglobulin G avidity assay.

M Hashido 1, S Inouye 1, T Kawana 1
PMCID: PMC229837  PMID: 9196189

Abstract

An immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody avidity assay which uses protein-denaturing agents and a modification of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay have been investigated for their usefulness in distinguishing primary genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections from nonprimary infections. Forty-nine serum specimens from patients with primary, recurrent, and nonprimary first-episode genital herpes were studied. The clearest separation was obtained with 6 M urea treatment, giving mean avidity indices of 0.398 for sera < or = 100 days after the infection and 0.879 for sera > 100 days after the infection (P < 0.001). No significant difference in avidity indices was observed between the recurrent and nonprimary first-episode infections. Determination of the avidity of HSV-specific IgG will improve the diagnostic potential of HSV serology.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (141.8 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Blackburn N. K., Besselaar T. G., Schoub B. D., O'Connell K. F. Differentiation of primary cytomegalovirus infection from reactivation using the urea denaturation test for measuring antibody avidity. J Med Virol. 1991 Jan;33(1):6–9. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890330103. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boppana S. B., Britt W. J. Antiviral antibody responses and intrauterine transmission after primary maternal cytomegalovirus infection. J Infect Dis. 1995 May;171(5):1115–1121. doi: 10.1093/infdis/171.5.1115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brown Z. A., Benedetti J., Selke S., Ashley R., Watts D. H., Corey L. Asymptomatic maternal shedding of herpes simplex virus at the onset of labor: relationship to preterm labor. Obstet Gynecol. 1996 Apr;87(4):483–488. doi: 10.1016/0029-7844(95)00457-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Fitzgerald M. G., Pullen G. R., Hosking C. S. Low affinity antibody to rubella antigen in patients after rubella infection in utero. Pediatrics. 1988 Jun;81(6):812–814. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gray J. J. Avidity of EBV VCA-specific IgG antibodies: distinction between recent primary infection, past infection and reactivation. J Virol Methods. 1995 Mar;52(1-2):95–104. doi: 10.1016/0166-0934(94)00147-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hashido M., Kawana T., Inouye S. Differentiation of primary from nonprimary genital herpesvirus infections by detection of polymeric immunoglobulin A activity. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Nov;27(11):2609–2611. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.11.2609-2611.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hedman K., Seppälä I. Recent rubella virus infection indicated by a low avidity of specific IgG. J Clin Immunol. 1988 May;8(3):214–221. doi: 10.1007/BF00917569. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Holliman R. E., Raymond R., Renton N., Johnson J. D. The diagnosis of toxoplasmosis using IgG avidity. Epidemiol Infect. 1994 Apr;112(2):399–408. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800057812. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Inouye S., Hasegawa A., Matsuno S., Katow S. Changes in antibody avidity after virus infections: detection by an immunosorbent assay in which a mild protein-denaturing agent is employed. J Clin Microbiol. 1984 Sep;20(3):525–529. doi: 10.1128/jcm.20.3.525-529.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Junker A. K., Tilley P. Varicella-zoster virus antibody avidity and IgG-subclass patterns in children with recurrent chickenpox. J Med Virol. 1994 Jun;43(2):119–124. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890430204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kangro H. O., Manzoor S., Harper D. R. Antibody avidity following varicella-zoster virus infections. J Med Virol. 1991 Feb;33(2):100–105. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890330207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kawana T., Kawagoe K., Takizawa K., Chen J. T., Kawaguchi T., Sakamoto S. Clinical and virologic studies on female genital herpes. Obstet Gynecol. 1982 Oct;60(4):456–461. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Lee F. K., Coleman R. M., Pereira L., Bailey P. D., Tatsuno M., Nahmias A. J. Detection of herpes simplex virus type 2-specific antibody with glycoprotein G. J Clin Microbiol. 1985 Oct;22(4):641–644. doi: 10.1128/jcm.22.4.641-644.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Lee F. K., Pereira L., Griffin C., Reid E., Nahmias A. A novel glycoprotein for detection of herpes simplex virus type 1-specific antibodies. J Virol Methods. 1986 Sep;14(2):111–118. doi: 10.1016/0166-0934(86)90041-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Pullen G. R., Fitzgerald M. G., Hosking C. S. Antibody avidity determination by ELISA using thiocyanate elution. J Immunol Methods. 1986 Jan 22;86(1):83–87. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(86)90268-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Randolph A. G., Washington A. E., Prober C. G. Cesarean delivery for women presenting with genital herpes lesions. Efficacy, risks, and costs. JAMA. 1993 Jul 7;270(1):77–82. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Thomas H. I., Morgan-Capner P. Rubella-specific IgG subclass avidity ELISA and its role in the differentiation between primary rubella and rubella reinfection. Epidemiol Infect. 1988 Dec;101(3):591–598. doi: 10.1017/s0950268800029459. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Ward K. N., Gray J. J., Fotheringham M. W., Sheldon M. J. IgG antibodies to human herpesvirus-6 in young children: changes in avidity of antibody correlate with time after infection. J Med Virol. 1993 Feb;39(2):131–138. doi: 10.1002/jmv.1890390209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Werblin T. P., Kim Y. T., Quagliata F., Siskind G. W. Studies on the control of antibody synthesis. 3. Changes in heterogeneity of antibody affinity during the course of the immune response. Immunology. 1973 Mar;24(3):477–492. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Whitley R. J. Herpes simplex virus infections of women and their offspring: implications for a developed society. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Mar 29;91(7):2441–2447. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.7.2441. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. de Ory F., Antonaya J., Fernández M. V., Echevarría J. M. Application of low-avidity immunoglobulin G studies to diagnosis of Epstein-Barr virus infectious mononucleosis. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 Jun;31(6):1669–1671. doi: 10.1128/jcm.31.6.1669-1671.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES