Detection of human calicivirus antigen and antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed to detect human calicivirus (HCV) antigen and antibody to HCV. The ELISAs were specific for HCV and as sensitive as a previously developed radioimmunoassay. These ELISAs were used to search for evidence of HCV infection in the United States, where HCV gastroenteritis has rarely been reported. One hundred sixty-three stool samples collected from children hospitalized with diarrhea were examined; one sample was positive in the ELISA. Typical calicivirus particles were found in this stool sample, and these particles reacted with a hyperimmune guinea pig anti-HCV serum by immune electron microscopy. The age-related acquisition of antibody to HCV in hospitalized infants and children (from birth to 19 years old) without gastroenteritis and in healthy adults was also evaluated. The pattern of acquisition of antibody to HCV was similar to that for group A rotaviruses, namely, beginning in infancy and becoming 100% by the age of 4 years. These data suggest that HCV is associated with infantile gastroenteritis in the United States, that infections with HCV are common, and that many infections with HCV (Sapporo strain) may not require hospitalization.