DEVELOPMENT OF IFA METHOD FOR DETECTING ANTIBODIES OF SARS CORONAVIRUS / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To develop a diagnostic test based on indirect immunofluorescence assay(IFA) to detect special antibodies in the serum of SARS patients, thus to provide a reference material for confirmation of the clinical diagnosis of SARS. Methods SARS coronavirus GZ01 and BJ01 strains isolated in our laboratory were used to infect Vero E6 cells. When CPE reached 25%, cells were trypsinized and transferred to 10 well slides in a quantity of 40?l with a cell density of 2?10 7 /ml. After 4 hour incubation at 37℃,the slides were fixed with acetone, and IFA was used to detect antibodies in serum samples, which were obtained from 154 SARS patients and 14 non SARS patients with respiratory disease, as well as 100 healthy volunteers. Results IFA method for detecting antibodies of SARS coronavirus was developed. Sera from one hundred and forty two out of 154 clinically diagnosed patients were IFA positive, with a positive rate of 92 3%. Sera from 14 non SARS patients with respiratory disease and 100 healthy persons were all IFA negative. Conclusion The IFA method we developed was sensitive and specific in detecting SARS antibodies in serum, and was a reliable test for laboratory diagnosis of SARS coronavirus.