[Evaluation of immunoblotting method for the detection of antibodies to mumps virus]

I developed on immunoblotting assay for the detection of antibodies to mumps virus components, using purified mumps virus propagated in Vero cell cultures, and investigated the presence of antibodies after vaccination in comparison with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the immunoblotting assay, antibodies to hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) and fusion (F) protein were detected two weeks after vaccination with live mumps vaccine, in accordance with the presence of ELISA antibodies. All serum samples positive in ELISA showed positive in immunoblotting, and two out of nine samples negative in ELISA after vaccination were positive in immunoblotting. Thus, the immunoblotting method is considered to be more sensitive than ELISA for the detection of antibodies to mumps virus.