Antibodies to Puumala virus in humans determined by neutralization test

An assay for detection of neutralizing antibodies to Puumala virus using 96-well microtiter plates (NT-ELISA) was developed and evaluated. The test proved to have similar sensitivity and specificity as an IgG ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence test, when screening 187 sera (with an antibody prevalence rate of 19%) from normal populations in an endemic area of Nephropathia epidemica (NE) in Sweden. NE-patients monitored for 2 years had neutralizing antibodies in early sera collected 1-4 days after the onset of disease with a continuous increase in neutralizing antibodies with time. Furthermore, high titers of neutralizing antibodies were detected 10-20 years post-infection. This neutralization assay was also evaluated as a screening method in the production of monoclonal antibodies. The format of the NT-ELISA makes it feasible to screen a large number of specimens with results similar to the standard plaque or focus-reduction neutralization tests.