Evaluation of Three Multiplex Flow Immunoassays Compared to an Enzyme Immunoassay for the Detection and Differentiation of IgG Class Antibodies to Herpes Simplex Virus Types 1 and 2

The diagnosis of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections is routinely made based on clinical findings and supported by laboratory testing using PCR or viral culture. However, in instances of subclinical or unrecog-nized HSV infection, serologic testing for IgG class antibodies to type-specific HSV glycoprotein G (gG) may be useful. This study evaluated and compared the performances of three multiplex flow immunoassays (AtheNA Multi-Lyte [Zeus Scientific], BioPlex 2200 [Bio-Rad Laboratories], and Plexus HerpeSelect [Focus Diagnostics]) for the simultaneous detection of gG type-specific IgG antibodies to HSV types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2). Serum specimens (n 505) submitted for routine gG type-specific HSV IgG testing by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) (HerpeSelect; Focus Diagnostics) were also tested by the three multiplex flow immuno-assays. Specimens showing discordant results were tested by HSV type-specific Western blotting (WB). For HSV-1 IgG, the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays demonstrated agreements of 94.9 % (479/505 specimens), 97.8 % (494/505 specimens), and 97.4 % (492/505 specimens), respectively, with the results of EIA. For HSV-2 IgG, the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays showed agreements of 87.9 % (444/505 specimens), 97.2 % (491/505 specimens), and 96.8 % (489/505 specimens), respectively, with EIA results. Timing studies showed that the AtheNA, BioPlex, and Plexus assays could provide complete analysis of 90 serum specimens in 3.1, 1.5, and 2.9 h, respectively, versus 3.1 h by EIA. These findings suggest that the gG type-specific HSV IgG multiple