Development of a rapid immunochromatographic test for noroviruses genogroups I and II

Norovirus (NoV) is known to cause acute gastroenteritis in children worldwide. Although reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) method is considered to be the “gold standard” for diagnosis of this viral infection, it requires skillful personnel and well-equipped laboratory. In this study, a rapid and easily performable diagnostic kit was developed using immunochromatographic method with rabbit polyclonal antibodies raised against recombinant virus-like particles (rVLPs) of most prevalent genotypes, genogroup II genotypes 3 and 4. This kit was evaluated for reactivity to rVLPs and detection of natural viruses in stool samples collected from children with diarrhea in comparison to the results obtained by RT-PCR. In the prospective assessment, the kit showed agreement rate of 84.1%, sensitivity of 69.8% and specificity of 93.7%. Genotyping of the RT-PCR positive samples by sequence analysis revealed that some heterogeneous genotypes were also detected while some in homogeneous genotypes occasionally showed false negative records resulting in lower sensitivity. No cross-reactivity with other common viral pathogens was observed. Taken together with the result of the detection limit of viral load as small as approximately 106–7 copies/g of stool, the current immunochromatography test is justified for screening for NoV infection with simple laboratory support.