[Lanthanide immunofluorescence assay for the serodiagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis]

Abstract

Lanthanide immunofluorescence assay (LIFA) was used to detect IgM of antibodies to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus in 791 patients who had been fallen ill with acute febrile diseases in the period of seasonal activity of carrier ticks in the endemic region of Russia (the Perm Region) (1786 sera being tested). This assay was equally effective as the commercial enzyme immunoassay test system (EITS) in the early serological diagnosis of TBE, verifying the clinical diagnosis in about 70% of patients just within the first week of disease. At the same time, the sensitivity of LIFA was much (nearly 5 times) higher than that of EITS in revealing antibody IgM in patients with chronic TBE, as well as in those with the acute course of disease, accompanied by the low level and untypical trend of accumulation of antibodies ofthis class.