Development of a simplified assay for the detection of neutralizing antibodies to Japanese encephalitis virus

Japanese encephalitis virus is a common cause of viral encephalitis in Asia with an estimated 45 000 cases annually. It causes significant morbidity a nd mortality. It is transmitted primarily by Culex mosquitoes between birds and animals, while man is thought to be an accidental, dead-end host. Sinc e dengue is also prevalent usually in Japanese encephalitis-endemic areas, all Japanese encephalitis positive sera must be confirmed by detecting Japa nese encephalitis specific neutralizing antibodies. The plaque reduction ne utralization rest is the gold standard fur detecting and quantifying Japane se encephalitis neutralizing antibodies. This test, however, takes about a week and is carried out in 6 or 24-well plates. which limits its usage for large-scale screening. A simplified assay was developed for the detection a nd quantification of Japanese encephalitis neutralizing antibodies. The ass ay, which is carried out in 96-well plates, would be suitable for use in th e mass screening of the population's immunity level as well as for use in v accine efficacy studies, (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .