New Diagnostic Tests for Rotavirus and Norovirus Infections Evaluated
By LabMedica International staff writers Posted on 21 Oct 2020 |

Image: The AFIAS-6 (AFIAS-automated fluorescent immunoassay system) is an automated fluorescent immunoassay system that uses blood, urine, and other samples to measure quantitatively or semi-quantitatively the concentration of targeted analyte (Photo courtesy of Boditech Med Inc).
Acute gastroenteritis is one of the most impactful and common infectious diseases, accounting for millions of deaths annually in young children. Rotavirus and norovirus are leading causes of acute viral gastroenteritis spread through fecal to oral transmission.
For appropriate treatment and infection control, accurate and timely identification of pathogens is necessary. Various diagnostic tools including electron microscopy, latex agglutination, immunochromatographic assay (ICA), enzyme immunoassays, and molecular assays have been developed.
A team of Medical Laboratorians at the Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Republic of Korea) used a total of 256 clinical stool samples submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory at a tertiary referral hospital, from November 2018 to January 2019. After routine testing with multiplex real‐time RT‐PCR (rRT‐PCR), residual stool samples were stored at −70 °C prior to analysis.
The team evaluated the performance of Automated Fluorescent Immunoassay System ROTA (AFIAS‐Rota) and NORO (AFIAS‐Noro) assays (Boditech Med Inc, Chuncheon-si, Korea), newly developed automated fluorescent lateral flow immunoassays, in comparison with RIDASCREEN Rotavirus (RIDASCREEN‐Rota) and Norovirus (RIDASCREEN‐Noro) ELISA kits (R‐Biopharm, Darmstadt, Germany) for detection of rotavirus and norovirus. The Boditech assays were read after 12 minutes using that company’s AFIAS‐6 scanner and for the R-Biopharm assays the fluorescence was analyzed using a GEMINI spectrofluorometer (STRATEC Biomedical AG, Birkenfeld, Germany).
The investigators reported AFIAS‐Rota and RIDASCREEN Rotavirus had almost perfect agreement and substantial agreement was observed between AFIAS‐Noro and RIDASCREEN Norovirus. For detection of rotavirus, AFIAS and RIDASCREEN assays showed satisfactory diagnostic sensitivity (100% and 97.8%, respectively) and specificity (99.5% and 99.1%). For detection of norovirus, the RIDASCREEN assay showed significantly higher sensitivity than the AFIAS‐Noro (86.0% and 66.0%, respectively). Analytic specificity of AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays showed no cross‐reactivity against any other bacteria (14 strains) or viruses (two strains). Hands‐on time (six minutes) and turnaround time (26 minutes) required to perform AFIAS assays were much shorter than those required for RIDASCREEN assays (20 and 150 minutes, respectively).
The authors concluded that the AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays showed overall excellent agreement with the RIDASCREEN assays. Although the AFIAS‐Noro assay exhibited lower sensitivity than the RIDASCREEN Norovirus assay for detection of norovirus, the AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays could be useful as a rapid initial screening test in clinical laboratories due to its convenience and rapid turnaround time. The study was published on September 23, 2020 in the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.
Related Links:
Samsung Medical Center
Boditech Med Inc
R‐Biopharm
STRATEC Biomedical AG
For appropriate treatment and infection control, accurate and timely identification of pathogens is necessary. Various diagnostic tools including electron microscopy, latex agglutination, immunochromatographic assay (ICA), enzyme immunoassays, and molecular assays have been developed.
A team of Medical Laboratorians at the Samsung Medical Center (Seoul, Republic of Korea) used a total of 256 clinical stool samples submitted to the clinical microbiology laboratory at a tertiary referral hospital, from November 2018 to January 2019. After routine testing with multiplex real‐time RT‐PCR (rRT‐PCR), residual stool samples were stored at −70 °C prior to analysis.
The team evaluated the performance of Automated Fluorescent Immunoassay System ROTA (AFIAS‐Rota) and NORO (AFIAS‐Noro) assays (Boditech Med Inc, Chuncheon-si, Korea), newly developed automated fluorescent lateral flow immunoassays, in comparison with RIDASCREEN Rotavirus (RIDASCREEN‐Rota) and Norovirus (RIDASCREEN‐Noro) ELISA kits (R‐Biopharm, Darmstadt, Germany) for detection of rotavirus and norovirus. The Boditech assays were read after 12 minutes using that company’s AFIAS‐6 scanner and for the R-Biopharm assays the fluorescence was analyzed using a GEMINI spectrofluorometer (STRATEC Biomedical AG, Birkenfeld, Germany).
The investigators reported AFIAS‐Rota and RIDASCREEN Rotavirus had almost perfect agreement and substantial agreement was observed between AFIAS‐Noro and RIDASCREEN Norovirus. For detection of rotavirus, AFIAS and RIDASCREEN assays showed satisfactory diagnostic sensitivity (100% and 97.8%, respectively) and specificity (99.5% and 99.1%). For detection of norovirus, the RIDASCREEN assay showed significantly higher sensitivity than the AFIAS‐Noro (86.0% and 66.0%, respectively). Analytic specificity of AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays showed no cross‐reactivity against any other bacteria (14 strains) or viruses (two strains). Hands‐on time (six minutes) and turnaround time (26 minutes) required to perform AFIAS assays were much shorter than those required for RIDASCREEN assays (20 and 150 minutes, respectively).
The authors concluded that the AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays showed overall excellent agreement with the RIDASCREEN assays. Although the AFIAS‐Noro assay exhibited lower sensitivity than the RIDASCREEN Norovirus assay for detection of norovirus, the AFIAS‐Rota/Noro assays could be useful as a rapid initial screening test in clinical laboratories due to its convenience and rapid turnaround time. The study was published on September 23, 2020 in the Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis.
Related Links:
Samsung Medical Center
Boditech Med Inc
R‐Biopharm
STRATEC Biomedical AG
Latest Immunology News
- Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
- Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients
- Post-Treatment Blood Test Could Inform Future Cancer Therapy Decisions
- Cerebrospinal Fluid Test Predicts Dangerous Side Effect of Cancer Treatment
- New Test Measures Preterm Infant Immunity Using Only Two Drops of Blood
- Simple Blood Test Could Help Choose Better Treatments for Patients with Recurrent Endometrial Cancer
- Novel Analytical Method Tracks Progression of Autoimmune Diseases
- 3D Bioprinted Gastric Cancer Model Uses Patient-Derived Tissue Fragments to Predict Drug Response
- Blood Test for Fungal Infections Could End Invasive Tissue Biopsies
- Cutting-Edge Microscopy Technology Enables Tailored Rheumatology Therapies
- New Discovery in Blood Immune Cells Paves Way for Parkinson's Disease Diagnostic Test
- AI Tool Uses Routine Blood Tests to Predict Immunotherapy Response for Various Cancers
- Blood Test Can Predict How Long Vaccine Immunity Will Last
- Microfluidic Chip-Based Device to Measure Viral Immunity
Channels
Clinical Chemistry
view channel
AI-Powered Blood Test Accurately Detects Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer ranks as the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women, largely due to late-stage diagnoses. Although over 90% of women exhibit symptoms in Stage I, only 20% are diagnosed in... Read more
Automated Decentralized cfDNA NGS Assay Identifies Alterations in Advanced Solid Tumors
Current circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) assays are typically centralized, requiring specialized handling and transportation of samples. Introducing a flexible, decentralized sequencing system at the... Read moreMass Spectrometry Detects Bacteria Without Time-Consuming Isolation and Multiplication
Speed and accuracy are essential when diagnosing diseases. Traditionally, diagnosing bacterial infections involves the labor-intensive process of isolating pathogens and cultivating bacterial cultures,... Read more
First Comprehensive Syphilis Test to Definitively Diagnose Active Infection In 10 Minutes
In the United States, syphilis cases have surged by nearly 80% from 2018 to 2023, with 209,253 cases recorded in the most recent year of data. Syphilis, which can be transmitted sexually or from mother... Read moreMolecular Diagnostics
view channel
Groundbreaking Molecular Diagnostic Test Accurately Diagnoses Major Genetic Cause of COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) are both conditions that can cause breathing difficulties, but they differ in their origins and inheritance.... Read more
First-in-Class Diagnostic Blood Test Detects Axial Spondyloarthritis
Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune condition that typically affects individuals during their most productive years, with symptoms often emerging before the age of 45.... Read more
New Molecular Label to Help Develop Simpler and Faster Tuberculosis Tests
Tuberculosis (TB), the deadliest infectious disease globally, is responsible for infecting an estimated 10 million people each year and causing over 1 million deaths annually. While chest X-rays and molecular... Read more
Biomarker Discovery Paves Way for Blood Tests to Detect and Treat Osteoarthritis
The number of individuals affected by osteoarthritis is projected to exceed 1 billion by 2050. The primary risk factor for this common, often painful chronic joint condition is aging, and, like aging itself,... Read moreHematology
view channel
First Point-of-Care Heparin Monitoring Test Provides Results in Under 15 Minutes
Heparin dosing requires careful management to avoid both bleeding and clotting complications. In high-risk situations like extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), mortality rates can reach about 50%,... Read more
New Scoring System Predicts Risk of Developing Cancer from Common Blood Disorder
Clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS) is a blood disorder commonly found in older adults, characterized by mutations in blood cells and a low blood count, but without any obvious cause or... Read moreImmunology
view channel
Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more
Machine Learning-Enabled Blood Test Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Lymphoma Patients
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has emerged as one of the most promising recent developments in the treatment of blood cancers. However, over half of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients... Read morePathology
view channel
Groundbreaking Chest Pain Triage Algorithm to Transform Cardiac Care
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for a third of all deaths worldwide, and chest pain is the second most common reason for emergency department (ED) visits. With EDs often being some of the busiest... Read more
AI-Based Liquid Biopsy Approach to Revolutionize Brain Cancer Detection
Detecting brain cancers remains extremely challenging, with many patients only receiving a diagnosis at later stages after symptoms like headaches, seizures, or cognitive issues appear. Late-stage diagnoses... Read moreTechnology
view channel
Advanced Predictive Algorithms Identify Patients Having Undiagnosed Cancer
Two newly developed advanced predictive algorithms leverage a person’s health conditions and basic blood test results to accurately predict the likelihood of having an undiagnosed cancer, including ch... Read more
Light Signature Algorithm to Enable Faster and More Precise Medical Diagnoses
Every material or molecule interacts with light in a unique way, creating a distinct pattern, much like a fingerprint. Optical spectroscopy, which involves shining a laser on a material and observing how... Read more
Disposable Microchip Technology Could Selectively Detect HIV in Whole Blood Samples
As of the end of 2023, approximately 40 million people globally were living with HIV, and around 630,000 individuals died from AIDS-related illnesses that same year. Despite a substantial decline in deaths... Read more
Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples
Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read moreIndustry
view channel
Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions
Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Grifols and Tecan’s IBL Collaborate on Advanced Biomarker Panels
Grifols (Barcelona, Spain), one of the world’s leading producers of plasma-derived medicines and innovative diagnostic solutions, is expanding its offer in clinical diagnostics through a strategic partnership... Read more