Microneutralization test for the reoviruses. Application to detection and assay of antibodies in sera of laboratory animals.

Abstract

SummaryThe problem of determining the specificity of hemagglutination-inhibiting activity for reovirus type 3 seen in mouse, hamster and rat sera examined as part of a mu-rine virus monitoring program, together with the need for a sensitive and efficient technic for detection of reovirus antibodies in the sera of other laboratory animals, led to the development of a microneutralization technic. The test, conducted in a HeLa cell system in disposable microplates, is a modified metabolic inhibition procedure which permits reading of results colorimetrically. The results obtained in microneutralization tests showed good correlation with those obtained in conventional neutralization tests conducted in tube cultures of monkey kidney cells. The technic was found to be suitable for detection of antibodies to all 3 reovirus types in sera of a variety of species, and it is particularly useful for monitoring rodent colonies for reovirus type 3 infections. HI tests appeared to possess less specificity than neutraliz...