[Evaluation of a new latex test for detecting human rotaviruses in feces]

We have sought the presence of rotavirus in 237 fecal samples. Three techniques were applied to each sample: ELISA, latex agglutination (LTX) with two reagents (Rotalex and SlidexRotaKit), and electron microscopy after negative staining. The specificity of ELISA and LTX is very good (more than 93.4 per cent), the sensitivity is decreasing from ELISA to SlidexRotaKit and Rotalex (respectively 83.6-74.5 and 67.3 per cent). The advantages of LTX include rapidity, simplicity, low cost price.