COMPARISON OF 4 SEROLOGICAL TESTS - COMPLEMENT-FIXATION, NEUTRALIZATION, FLUORESCENT-ANTIBODY TO MEMBRANE ANTIGEN AND IMMUNE ADHERENCE HEMAGGLUTINATION - FOR ASSAY OF ANTIBODY TO VARICELLA-ZOSTER (V-Z) VIRUS

Abstract

Four tests for antibody [Ab] to varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus were compared; these were tests of complement fixation (CF), neutralization (NT), fluorescent Ab to membrane antigen (FAMA) and immune adherence hemagglutination (IAHA). Sera (52) from patients with varicella and zoster and from recipients of live varicella vaccine were examined by the 4 tests. The CF test was least sensitive but the Ab titers by the NT, FAMA and IAHA tests were roughly comparable. The IAHA test was the simplest and fastest to perform and appeared suitable for routine serological assay to V-Z virus. The correlation between the IAHA Ab titer and susceptibility of individuals to clinical varicella was investigated retrospectively using sera obtained during 2 outbreaks of varicella in an institution for children where all the unvaccinated children had developed varicella symptoms. Most of the 25 pre-exposure sera from unvaccinated children examined by the IAHA test had titers of < 1:2. All 23 sera from vaccinated children who did not develop varicella had detectable Ab titers of 1:2-1:64. The IAHA titer may reflect the susceptibility or resistance of individuals to clinical varicella.