Comparison of Serologic Assays for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

Comparison of Serologic Assays for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus

Ruth Harvey, Giada Mattiuzzo, Mark Hassall, Andrea Sieberg, Marcel A. Müller, Christian Drosten, Peter Rigsby, Christopher J. Oxenford

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was detected in humans in 2012. Since then, sporadic outbreaks with primary transmission through dromedary camels to humans and outbreaks in healthcare settings have shown that MERS-CoV continues to pose a threat to human health. Several serologic assays for MERS-CoV have been developed globally. We describe a collaborative study to investigate the comparability of serologic assays for MERS-CoV and assess any benefit associated with the introduction of a standard reference reagent for MERS-CoV serology. Our study findings indicate that, when possible, laboratories should use a testing algorithm including >2 tests to ensure correct diagnosis of MERS-CoV. We also demonstrate that the use of a reference reagent greatly improves the agreement between assays, enabling more consistent and therefore more meaningful comparisons between results.

2019

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV, Spike, Antibodies, diagnostics, serology

DOI: 10.3201/eid2510.190497

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Infectious and parasitic diseases, Medicine

EN