Comparison of electron microscopy with three commercial tests for the detection of rotavirus in animal feces.

Three commercial test kits were evaluated to detect the presence of rotavirus antigens in bovine, porcine, and turkey feces. Two of the assays, Rotalex (Medical Technology Corporation, Somerset, NJ) and Virogen-Rotatest (Wampole Labs, Cranbury, NJ) are latex agglutination tests (LA), while the third, Pathfinder (Kallestad, Austin, TX) is an enzyme immunoassay. The clinical usefulness of these assays was elevated by comparing their results with those of direct electron microscopy (EM). A total of 135, 92, and 211 samples of animal feces were tested by Rotalex, Virogen, and Pathfinder, respectively. All samples were examined by EM as a reference procedure. The overall agreement of the three commercial assays with EM was 53%, 66%, and 83% for Rotalex, Virogen, and Pathfinder, respectively. Based on these results, we consider Pathfinder as an attractive alternative to EM for the detection of rotavirus in animals. Of the two LA tests, Virogen was found to be a little more sensitive and specific.