[Antibody-based diagnostic assays with recombinant virus-like particles]

Abstract

Virus-like particles were produced with 4 genogroup I Norwalk-like viruses(NLVs) and 7 genogroup II NLVs by a baculovirus expression system, and used to detect the antibody to NLVs by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA). Very little cross reactivity was observed between the genogroup I NLVs and the genogroup II NLVs when the antibody ELISA was done with hyperimmune sera. Infections by several genotypes of the NLVs were thought to occur in oyster-associated acute gastroenteritis, while an infection by a single genotype of NLVs was found in the illness occurred in a hospital. A high prevalence of antibody to 11 NLVs was observed in samples collected from healthy adults in Japan.