A combined enzyme immunoassay for rotavirus and adenovirus (EIARA)

A combined enzyme immunoassay for rotavirus and adenovirus (EIARA) was developed as a double-antibody sandwich assay in which test samples are added to plastic wells coated with rotavirus or adenovirus goat antibody. The presence of antigens is detected by mixed-guinea pig antisera to the same viruses followed by rabbit anti-guinea pig IgG conjugated with peroxidase and subsequently by ortho-phenylenediamine substrate. Titrations of rotavirus (SA11) and adenovirus type 2 tissue culture grown viruses in the presence of separate capture sera and mixed detector sera revealed that the two virus-antibody reactions occurred independently and were not affected by each other. Comparison with another enzyme immunoassay for rotavirus, with immunoelectron microscopy and with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that EIARA is a sensitive and specific method for detecting rotaviruses and adenoviruses in faeces from children with gastroenteritis.