Comparison of seven commercial tests for the detection of parvovirus B19-specific IgM

Several enzyme immunoassays (EIA) for the detection of parvovirus B19 IgM (anti-B19 IgM) are now commercially available. In this study, seven commercial EIAs (Biotrin, DAKO, Viramed, Viratech, R-Biopharm, Mast) were compared with an in-house EIA (MvP-EIA) using native viral B19 particles and the reference IgM radioimmunoassay (MACRIA). A total of 88 sera were tested. Results agreed in 39/88 (44.3%) sera, whereas 47/88 (53.4%) were discrepant and 2/88 (2.3%) gave an equivocal result. Assay sensitivity ranged from 70.3 to 100% and specificity, from 75.9 to 100%. The best results were obtained with two EIAs (Biotrin, DAKO) using baculovirus-expressed B19 proteins as antigen. This study has shown that baculovirus-expressed B19 antibody tests are suitable tools for detecting anti-B19 IgM.