ELISA for the Detection of Antibodies to Ebola Viruses

Abstract

EIAs for IgG and IgM antibodies directed against Ebola (EBO) viral antigens have been developed and evaluated using sera of animals and humans surviving infection with EBO viruses.The IgM capture assay detected anti-EBO (subtype Reston) antibodies in the sera of 5 of 5 experimentally infected animals at the time they succumbed to lethal infections.IgM antibodies were also detected in the serum of a human who was infected with EBO (subtype Reston) during a postmortem examination of an infected monkey.The antibody was detectable as early as day 6 after infection in experimentally infected animals and persisted for õ90 days.The IgG response was less rapid; however, it persisted for ú400 days in 3 animals who survived infection, and it persisted for Ç10 years after infection in the sera of 2 humans.Although these data are limited by the number of sera available for verification, the IgM assay seems to have great promise as a diagnostic tool.Furthermore the long-term persistence of the IgG antibodies measured by this test strongly suggests that the ELISA will be useful in field investigations of EBO virus.In conducting the research described in this report, the investigator(s) adhered to the ''Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals,'' as promul-experimentally infected primates and humans who survived gated by the Committee on Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the Institute EBO infections. of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Research Council.The facilities are fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care.The views of the author(s) do not purport to reflect the positions of the Materials and Methods