Responses of IgM for enterovirus 71 infection

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Abstract
A rapid serological assay was developed for detection of specific IgM to enterovirus 71, a human picornavirus that is usually associated with severe central nervous system complications. The sensitivity and specificity of this “in‐house” μ‐capture enzyme linked‐immunosorbent assay was assessed by testing 213 serum samples. With the conventional virus culture as a standard method, the sensitivity and specificity were 91.5 and 93.1%, respectively, for this newly developed immunoassay. This method allows for detection of the IgM responses from the patients either infected by genotype B or genotype C of enterovirus 71. IgM can be detected as early as the second day from the onset of disease. IgM responses exhibit 100% positive rate from enterovirus 71‐infected patients with complications, including encephalitis, meningitis, polio‐like syndrome, pulmonary edema, and fatal cases. These findings suggest that detection of specific IgM by the use of enzyme linked‐immunosorbent assay is a rapid and valuable way for the diagnosis of enterovirus 71 infection. J. Med. Virol. 68:574–580, 2002.