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EVALUATION OF IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC TEST KITS FOR THE DETECTION OF NOROVIRUS IN FAECAL SPECIMENS

Background: The early detection of norovirus plays a vital role in the reduction of transmission and control of nosocomial viral gastroenteritis. Aim: This study evaluated the immunochromatographic test kits RIDAQUICK N1402, RIDAQUICK N1403, SD BIOLINE Norovirus and ImmunoCard STAT! Norovirus. There are no current publications evaluating RIDAQUICK N1402. Method: Eighty-six thawed faecal samples previously subjected to viral loading were tested with the kits and the cycle threshold value used as the standard reference. Twenty fresh faecal samples containing norovirus were also tested. Results: The sensitivity for RIDAQUICK N1403, RIDAQUICK N1402, SD BIOLINE Norovirus, ImmunoCard STAT! Norovirus, using the thawed samples was 46%, 58%, 32% and 47%, respectively. Specificity for RIDAQUICK N1403 was 96% whilst the other test kits obtained 100% specificity. Using the fresh samples, sensitivity was 70% and specificity was 100% across all kits. Discussion: Variances in sensitivities and specificities across test kits between the thawed and fresh samples indicate the importance of the storage of samples. Immunochromatographic test kits may be useful as a primary screening method for the detection of norovirus, however negative samples should be confirmed with more sensitive detection methods such as reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).