Conventional methods for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific
antibodies include the immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and
enzyme immunoassay (EIA). While sensitive and specific, these methods are labor-intensive and require separate assays for each analyte. This study evaluated the performance of a multiplex bead assay (
BioPlex 2200; Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA) for the simultaneous detection of
immunoglobulin G (
IgG) and
IgM class
antibodies to the EBV viral capsid
antigen (VCA) and
IgG class
antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1). Serum specimens (n = 1,315) submitted for routine EBV-specific antibody testing by EIA (Grifols-Quest, Inc., Miami, FL) were also tested by the multiplex bead assay using the
BioPlex 2200 automated analyzer. Specimens showing discordant results were tested by IFA. Following IFA resolution, the
BioPlex VCA
IgM, VCA
IgG, and
EBNA-1 IgG assays demonstrated 97.9%, 91.4%, and 96.9% agreement, respectively, with the results obtained by EIA. Furthermore, the
BioPlex assays showed an overall agreement of 94.1% with the EIA when the specimens were categorized by disease state (susceptible, acute, or past
infection) based on the EBV-specific antibody profiles. These findings indicate that the
BioPlex EBV assays demonstrate a performance comparable to that of the conventional EIA, while allowing for a more rapid (2.3 h for 100 samples versus 4.5 h by the EIA) and higher-throughput ( approximately 400 samples per 9 h versus 200 samples by the EIA) analysis of the EBV-specific antibody response.