Comparison of staphylococcal co-agglutination with other assays for rapid diagnosis of rotavirus infection in humans, calves and piglets.

ABSTRACT

Co-agglutination was used for rapid diagnosis of rotavirus infection. Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I sensitized with rabbit antiserum to rotavirus demonstrated the presence of this virus in stools of children, calves and piglets with clinical signs of diarrhea. A total of 415 fecal samples were examined by the co-agglutination test and the results were compared with those of ELISA, electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel and latex agglutination. The co-agglutination test, when compared to these three methods, presented a correlation which varied between 87.2 and 94.2%.