Diagnosis of human rotavirus in stool specimens: comparison of different methods

A total of 345 stool specimens of hospitalized children below 5 years of age with acute gastroenteritis were tested for the presence of rotavirus by Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), a monoclonal antibody based enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and a latex agglutination test (LAT). Detection rate for PAGE and EIA were 24.9% (345/86) and 20.9% (345/70) respectively. Using PAGE as the standard, the sensitivity and specificity of EIA were 75.6% and 98.1% respectively. The sensitivity of LAT was 70.9% with 100% specificity (LAT was done in only PAGE positive specimens). LAT appeared as the simplest and economic for both bed side and field use.