Development and evaluation of NS1 specific monoclonal antibody based antigen capture ELISA and its implications in clinical diagnosis of West Nile virus infection

The WN NS1 antigen was detectable in the blood from the first day up to day 9 after the onset of symptoms. The higher sensitivity and specificity of this monoclonal Antibody based sandwich ELISA makes it useful for early diagnosis of WN infection in endemic areas during outbreaks.