[The effects of 4 laboratory test kits in early detecting of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus].

Wang, Ming; Gao, Yang; Zhou, Duan-hua; Wu, Xin-wei; Chen, Xiao-shuang; Di, Biao; Liu, Yu-fei; Chen, Fang; Du, Lin; Xu, Hui-fang; Gu, Jing; Zheng, Bo-jian; Xu, Jian-guo

OBJECTIVE To compare the 4 test kits on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) gene, antigen and antibody for early diagnose of SARS patients. METHODS Three enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits were used to detect SARS-CoV IgG, IgM and N protein and fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (F-PCR) kit was used to detect SARS-CoV RNA. RESULTS In 162 serum samples, 90.2% (55/61) became N protein positive in 1 - 5 days and 92.8% (13/14) became positive IgM and IgG in 15 - 18 days after the onset of disease, respectively. On 82 gorgling samples, the positive rates of F-PCR were 56.3% (14/24) in 1 - 5 days and 71.4% (10/14) in 6 - 9 days after the onset. CONCLUSION Other than F-PCR, N protein had good effect in the early detection on dubious patients which could lead to effective prevention and control of the epidemic.