Ho M, Warrell M J, Warrell D A, Bidwell D, Voller A
Toxicon. 1986;24(3):211-21. doi: 10.1016/0041-0101(86)90147-9.
The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been the most widely used serological test in snake bite immunodiagnosis and epidemiology. The technique has been applied, however, without due consideration of the many factors which would affect an inherently sensitive test system, especially in tropical rural areas where large scale snake bite studies are usually carried out. This review discusses the effects of non-specific reactivity, cross reactivity and the quality of reagents on both the sensitivity and specificity of venom antigen and antibody detection assays. Simple laboratory modifications to optimize the assays are described. The importance of using the predictive value to assess the validity of applying the same test system in different circumstances is stressed. To fulfil its potential as the most versatile immunoassay technique in snake bite research, the test conditions of the ELISA will have to be much more stringently controlled in future.
酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）一直是蛇咬伤免疫诊断和流行病学中应用最广泛的血清学检测方法。然而，该技术在应用时，没有充分考虑到许多会影响本质上敏感的检测系统的因素，特别是在通常进行大规模蛇咬伤研究的热带农村地区。本综述讨论了非特异性反应性、交叉反应性和试剂质量对毒液抗原和抗体检测测定的敏感性和特异性的影响。描述了为优化测定而进行的简单实验室改进。强调了使用预测值来评估在不同情况下应用相同检测系统的有效性的重要性。为了充分发挥其作为蛇咬伤研究中最通用的免疫测定技术的潜力，未来必须更严格地控制ELISA的检测条件。
