Datasheets

Rubella IgG ELISA

Catalog No.: RB025G (96 Tests)

INTENDED USE

The Rubella IgG ELISA Kit is intended for the detection of IgG antibody to Rubella in human serum.

SUMMARY AND EXPLANATION

Rubella is usually a mild disease with infrequent complication. In unvaccinated populations, rubella is primarily a childhood disease. Where children are well-immunized, adolescent and adult infections become more evident. Rubella is spread by direct contact with nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals. Symptoms may include a rash, slight fever, joint aches, headache, discomfort, runny nose and reddened eyes. The incubation period for rubella is 12-23 days; in most cases, symptoms appear within 16-18 days. If contracted during the first trimester of pregnancy, Rubella infection can lead to congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Infection of a pregnant woman may result in a miscarriage, stillbirth or the birth of an infant with abnormalities, which may include deafness, cataracts, heart defects, liver and spleen damage and mental retardation. CRS occurs among at least 25 percent of infants born to women who have had rubella during the first trimester of pregnancy. The presence of IgG antibody to rubella virus is indicative of vaccination or previous exposure. In individuals with acute rubella infection, four-fold or greater increase in IgG antibody level is indicative of recent infection. Rubella IgM antibodies are detected by ELISA in 100% of patients between days 11-25 after onset of the exanthema, in 60-80% of individuals at days 15-25 after vaccination and in 90-97% of infants with congenital rubella between 2 weeks and 3 months after birth. Rubella IgM antibody often persists for 20-30 days after acute infection or vaccination.

PRINCIPLE OF THE TEST

Diluted patient serum is added to wells coated with purified antigen. IgG specific antibody, if present, binds to the antigen. All unbound materials are washed away and the enzyme conjugate is added to bind to the antibody-antigen complex, if present. Excess enzyme conjugate is washed off and substrate is added. The plate is incubated to allow the hydrolysis of the substrate by the enzyme. The intensity of the color generated is proportional to the amount of IgG specific antibody in the sample.

LIMITATIONS OF THE TEST

1. The test results obtained using this kit serve only as an aid to diagnosis and should be interpreted in relation to the patient’s history, physical findings and other diagnostic procedures.

2. Lipemic or hemolyzed samples may cause erroneous results.

REFERENCES

1. de Souza VA; Sumita LM; Otsubo ME; Takei K; Pannuti CS. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for rubella antibodies: a simple method of antigen production. A preliminary report. Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 1995; 37(4):357-9.

2. Matter L; Germann D; Bally F; Schopfer K. Age-stratified seroprevalence of Rubella, mumps and rubella (MMR) virus infections in Switzerland after the introduction of MMR mass vaccination. Eur J Epidemiol 1997;13(1):61-6.

3. M¨uhlebach-Sponer M; Zbinden R; da Silva VA; Gnehm HE. Intrathecal rubella antibodies in an adolescent with Guillain-Barr´e syndrome after mumps-Rubella-rubella vaccination [letter]. Eur J Pediatr 1995; 154(2):166.

4. Johnson CE; Kumar ML; Whitwell JK; Staehle BO; Rome LP; Dinakar C; Hurni W; Nalin DR. Antibody persistence after primary Rubella-mumps-rubella vaccine and response to a second dose given at four to six vs. eleven to thirteen years. Pediatr Infect Dis J

1996;15(8):687-92.

5. Matter L; Kogelschatz K; Germann D. Serum levels of rubella virus antibodies indicating immunity: response to vaccination of subjects with low or undetectable antibody concentrations. J Infect Dis 1997; 175(4):749-55.

6. Bos P; Steele D; Alexander J. Prevalence of antibodies to rubella, herpes simplex 2 and cytomegalovirus in pregnant women and in neonates at Ga-Rankuwa. Cent Afr J Med 1995;41(1):14-7.