Quantitative determination of cytomegalovirus IgG antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

Quantitative determination of cytomegalovirus (CMV) human IgG antibody by ELISA performed in polystyrene trays was carried out and compared with results obtained by the routine complement fixation (CF) test. The antibody titres of all the sera determined by ELISA were higher than those detected by the CF test. Of the 27 sera negative (less than 1:8) by the CF test, 22 of them were also negative (less than 1:50) by ELISA. The other five CF negative sera were found to have low levels of antibody by ELISA. ELISA is a sensitive and specific assay for CMV antibody. The CMV antigen adsorbed readily to the microtitre plates and the test was simple to perform. The results of ELISA could be obtained in 5 to 6h. A description of the test procedure is given including the method of CMV antigen attachment to the plates. The possibility of using paired sera at a single dilution in the ELISA test to detect seroconversion is discussed.