Laboratory evaluation of ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence assay in response to emergence of Japanese encephalitis virus genotype IV in Australia

Paul Kinsella, Michael Moso, Genevieve Martin, Theo Karapangiotidis, Di Karamalakis, Suellen Nicholson, Mitch Batty, Kathy Jackson, Madeleine Marsland, Tilda Thompson, Lakshmi Manoharan, Helen O'brien, Deborah Friedman, Katherine Bond, Deborah A. Williamson, Chuan Kok Lim*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The unexpected recent emergence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) genotype IV in multiple southern states of Australia necessitated an evaluation of JEV serological tests suitable for diagnosing acute infection and for seroprevalence studies. This study examined the analytical and clinical performance of two high-throughput JEV assays, Euroimmun immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and Euroimmun enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), across four cohorts; (1) surveillance of piggery workers in outbreak areas, (2) surveillance of residents in outbreak areas, (3) acute JEV infection and (4) post-JEV vaccination. ELISA and IFA IgM demonstrated minimal cross-reactivity (0–1.8%) with other endemic flaviviruses, with high sensitivity (100%) for acute JEV infection in this low endemicity setting. Differences in IgG serodynamics between the two assays suggest convalescent and paired testing with IgM are critical in diagnosing acute infection. High assay concordance was observed between ELISA and IFA when used in serosurveillance (97.4% agreement, Cohen’ κ 0.74 [95% CI 0.614–0.860]) and vaccination cohorts (91.1% agreement, Cohen's κ 0.806 [95% CI 0.672–0.941]). In conclusion, this study highlights the clinical & epidemiological applications and limitations of these two commercial JEV assays.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105580
JournalJournal of Clinical Virology
Volume168
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)

Keywords

  • ELISA
  • Flavivirus
  • Immunofluorescence
  • Japanese encephalitis virus
  • Serology

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