Detection of respiratory syncytial virus in nasopharyngeal secretions by inhibition of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

Abstract

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] developed for the demonstration of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus IgG antibodies was used for the detection of RS virus in specimens of nasopharyngeal secretions (NPS) obtained from children with acute respiratory disease. Samples of NPS were incubated with a fixed amount of standard serum (human serum antibodies to RS virus) before being added to the ELISA test plate. A decrease in the optical density value determined for this standard serum was seen with the majority of NPS specimens from which RS virus was isolated in tissue culture. The reliability and the specificity of this inhibition test were supported by experiments with purified RS virus and by tests with NPS specimens containing other respiratory viruses.