Elisa assay for West Nile virus
West Nile virus (WNV) is becoming widespread: it has been detected in over half of the 50 states of the USA and exposure to it causes a disease with a number of symptoms including encephalitis. The West Nile Detect IgG Test aids the diagnosis of human exposure to the West Nile virus by an ELISA assay system for the detection of antibodies in human serum to WNV derived recombinant antigen (WNRA). WNRA, which can be used as a rapid serological marker for WNV infection, is a recombinant antigen consisting of a stretch of peptides from two WNV antigens. This assay – a two-step capture ELISA – uses a small 4 μL sample volume, has a specificity of 98.4% and a sensitivity of 96.2% and each kit contains reagents for 96 tests. The results are determined by absorbance measurement at 450 nm. Above a certain threshold, the ratio of the absorbances of the WNRA and the control wells accurately determines whether antibodies to WNV are present and a set of positive and negative samples is provided as internal controls in order to monitor the integrity of the kit components. Stored at 2–8 °C, the kit has a shelf life of 12 months.
Supplier: DIAGNOSTIC AUTOMATION, INC.
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