Rotavirus antibody assays on monkey sera: a comparison of enzyme immunoassay with neutralization and complement-fixation tests.

An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of rotaviral antibodies was developed, using a purified, cell culture-grown SA 11 viral antigen and alkaline phosphatase as an enzyme label. This technique was evaluated by comparative testing with tube neutralization and complement-fixation assays on a collection of simian sera. There was close correlation between positive and negative results obtained by EIA and by neutralization. The EIA was as easy to perform as complement fixation testing, but showed greater sensitivity and fewer nonspecific reactions. Thus, EIA was shown to be a very suitable test for routine detection of rotaviral antibodies in serum. Results of neutralization tests suggested that the monkeys (mostly rhesus macaques) in the present study were infected with viruses varying in their antigenic relatedness to SA 11 virus and to a British isolate of calf rotavirus.