COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT METHODS FOR ASSESSMENT OF RUBELLA INFECTION AND IMMUNITY

Three enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), a fluorescence immunoassay (FIAX) and a hemolysis-in-gel test (HIG) were examined for sensitivity in detection of specific antibodies in sera of persons with acute and previous rubella infection. In comparison to hemagglutination (HI), all tests were able to detect previously formed rubella antibodies. In sera of patients with acute rubella infection, only the FIAX system always showed positive results. These findings may be due to a higher sensitivity of the FIAX system or may be non-specific results. In some cases, this test system failed to detect significant titer rises seen in HI because it showed high antibody titers in the 1st serum sample.