Hantaviruses infecting humans in Eurasia include Hantaan, Seoul, Puumala and the closely related Dobrava and Saaremaa viruses. These viruses are causative agents of
hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (
HFRS), which is recognized as a severe health care problem in several countries. Diagnostics of
hantavirus infections relies on serology, performed principally with
enzyme immunoassay (EIA) or immunofluorescence assay (IFA). We developed four 5-min immunochromatographic
IgM-antibody tests for diagnostics of acute Puumala, Dobrava and Hantaan virus
infections and a similar combination test to detect all Eurasian pathogenic
hantavirus infections. We evaluated the assays using 100 fingertip blood samples collected randomly from Finnish volunteers, 28 confirmed hantavirus
IgM-negative sera, and 77 sera from patients with acute
infections of various hantaviruses. The specificities and sensitivities of the Puumala-, Dobrava- and Hantaan virus -specific tests varied from 96 to 100%, whereas, the combination test showed 96% specificity and 80 to 93% sensitivity. Cross-reactions were observed commonly between the Dobrava and the Hantaan virus tests, but only rarely between the Puumala and the Hantaan virus, or the Puumala and the Dobrava virus, tests. Altogether, the rapid tests showed less cross-reactivity than the respective EIA tests. According to the results, the performance of these tests meets well the requirements for diagnostic use. Nevertheless, the specific one-
antigen tests were markedly more sensitive than the combination test. However, if optimized, a combination test would be suitable for regions where several hantaviruses circulate.