Detection of norovirus infections in Canakkale with ELISA and RT-PCR

Purpose: Noroviruses are important agents of gastroenteritis worldwide in every age group. There is no large countrywide dataset available for norovirus infections in Turkey. This is the first investigation of noroviruses in Canakkale, and we aimed to compare commercial ELISA and real time RT-PCR assays in clinical use. Material and Methods: Fecal samples from 92 clinical gastroenteritis cases were collected and stored at -20 degrees C. Norovirus antigen was investigated using RidaScreen ELISA and norovirus GI and GII molecular detection made with RealStar Norovirus RT-PCR kit 2.0. Results: We found that 16 (17.4%) samples were positive for norovirus in our study group. Using ELISA, 10 samples were positive from 92 samples. In PCR analysis, internal control amplification failed for four samples. We found 15 of 88 samples positive for real time RT-PCR analysis; of these one was GI and 14 were GII. When we accepted PCR as the reference test, the sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were calculated as 60% and 98% respectively. Conclusion: Single cases of norovirus infection can be seen even in rural cities like Canakkale. There is a need to set up diagnostic capabilities for norovirus infections. ELISA has a low sensitivity, but this method is cheaper than RT-PCR and is not affected by PCR inhibitors.