[Western blotting in the serologic diagnosis of enterovirus infections. II. Detection of coxsackievirus antibodies in the sera of patients with suspected enterovirus infection and in paired specimens of sera and saliva].

Detection of anti-Coxsackie virus antibodies in sera with suspect enterovirus infection by the Western blotting (WB) method revealed complete agreement of results with virus neutralization tests (VNT) in those patients where in the VNT no antibodies against any of the tested Coxsackie viruses were detected. Comparison of the results of WB and VNT in other patients did not rule out an inter-type cross-reaction. In paired specimens of sera and saliva comparable results were obtained by WB, VNT and the complement fixation method. The rapid and relatively simple character of the WB method makes this method suitable for more detailed elaboration and introduction into routine diagnosis of enterovirus infections.