Measles-
AThreatStillMuchAlive

IBLInternationaloffershighlysensitiveandspecificELISAsfortheSEROlogicaldiagnosisofacute-phasemeaslesvirusinfection(IgM)aswellasforthedeterminationoftheimmunestatus(IgG),i.e.asanindicatorofsuccessfulmeaslesvaccinationoraftermeaslesvirusexposure.Theyhavefollowingfeatures:

• μ-capturetechnologyforIgM
• IgMELISA:diagnosticsensitivityof96%/diagnosticspecificityof99%
• IgGELISA:diagnosticsensitivityof99%/diagnosticspecificityof96%
• CalibratedagainsttheWHOstandard(IgG)
• Quantitative(immunestatus)or,alternatively,qualitativeresults
• Nocross-reactivitywithmumps,rubellaorEBV
• ReADIlyadaptableforuseinopenautomatedELISAsystems
• Kitshelflifeof18months

About30millionpeopleworldwidecontractmeasleseveryyear.Althoughaneffectiveandaffordablevaccinehasbeenavailablefor40years,measlesisstilloneoftheleadingcausesofdeath,especiallyinchildren.Althoughthenumberofmeaslescasesinyoungchildrenhadgreatlydiminishedduetosystematicvaccinationcampaigns,asignificantre-emergenceofmeasleshasagainbeenobservedwithinthepast10years.Lastyear,large-scaleoutbreaksoccurredinAsia,Africa,SouthAmericaandEurope.Themeaslesvirusistransmittedbydirectcontactwithnasalorpharyngealsecretionsandbydropletroute.Itishighlycontagious--virtuallyallcontactsoftheinfectedpersonwillcontractthedisease.Symptomsrangefromflu-likesymptomsaccompaniedbyacharacteristicrashtoseverecomplicationswithneurologicaldeficitsandorganfailure.

Inthepast,measlesinfectionposednodiagnosticchallengeduetoitstypicalclinicalpicture.Aftertheintroductionofvaccination,however,thesymptomshavebecomerare,sothatlaboratorydiagnosisisbecomingincreasinglyimportant.SerologicaldetectionofIgMantibodiesisthefastestandmostconclusivemethod.IgMantibodiestypicallyemergewiththeappearanceoftherash.

AssessmentofthediagnosticperformanceofmeaslesIgMμ-captureELISAandmeaslesIgGELISA

1.Methodcomparison:IBLInternational"sMeaslesIgMμ-captureELISAvs.SiemensEnzygnostAnti-MeaslesIgMELISA(n=204)

Diagnosticsensitivity:95.7%
Diagnosticspecificity:98.6%

2.Methodcomparison:IBLInternational"sMeaslesIgGELISAvs.SiemensEnzygnostAnti-MeaslesIgGELISA(n=258)

Diagnosticsensitivity:98.8%
Diagnosticspecificity:96.1%

GeneralInformation

Measlesisahighlycontagiousviraldiseasecharacterizedbyaclinicallydistinctprodromeoffever,coryza,conjunctivitis,coughandapathognomicexanthem(Koplik`sspots).TherashofMeaslesappearsaftera3to5-daysprodrome,some14daysafterexposureandmaybeassociatedwithedemaoftheskin.ThediseaseistheresultofinfectionwiththeMeaslesVirus,genusMorbillivirusofthefamilyParamyxoviridae.Complicationsare:otitismedia,pneumoniaandencephalitis.MeasleshaveamoresevereexpressioninyoungerorundernourishedchildrenwithahigherincidenceofhemorrhageMeasles,with5%to10%oflethalcases.MeaslesareoneofthemostcontagiousInfectiousDiseases.Thevirusspreadsthroughdropletsemanatingfromtherespiratorytractofinfectedpersonsorbydirectcontact.TheincidenceofMeasleshasdeclinedsincetheintroductionofvaccinationprograms.