TRADITIONAL METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS OF VIRAL INFECTIONS HAVE BEEN PREDOMINANTLY BASED UPON ISOLATION OF VIRUSES FROM INFECTED TISSUES OR EXCRETIONS, PROPAGATION OF THE VIRUSES IN CELL CULTURES, THEN IDENTIFICATION OF THE VIRUS BY DETECTION OF SERUM

TRADITIONAL METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS OF VIRAL INFECTIONS HAVE BEEN PREDOMINANTLY BASED UPON ISOLATION OF VIRUSES FROM INFECTED TISSUES OR EXCRETIONS, PROPAGATION OF THE VIRUSES IN CELL CULTURES, THEN IDENTIFICATION OF THE VIRUS BY DETECTION OF SERUM ANTIBODIES AGAINST THE VIRUS. THESE METHODS OF VIRAL DETECTION MAY BE DIFFICULT TO PERFORM EARLYENOUGH TO AID IN PATIENT MANAGEMENT, AND MANY FASTIDIOUS VIRUSES CANNOT BE ISOLATED OR CULTURED. DEVELOPMENT OF RAPID DETECTION METHODS WHICH COULD DETERMINE IF VIRUS IS PRESENT IN BODY FLUID AND WHICH COULD EASILY AND RAPIDLY BE PERFORMED IN A CLINIC OR DOCTOR'S OFFICE WOULD AID IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF VIRAL INDUCED ILLNESS. THE PROPOSED ASSAY FORMATS ARE AN ENTRAPMENT TYPE ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY (THE VIRUSIS TRAPPED BETWEEN TWO POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES) AND A HOMOGENEOUS DIP-STRIP TYPE OF ENZYME IMMUNOASSAY. THE ADENOVIRUSES WILL BE USED AS MODEL VIRUSES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THIS TECHNOLOGY. THE SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY CAPABILITIES OF THESE SYSTEMS WILL BE TESTED IN SAMPLES CONTAINING KNOWN QUANTITIES OF VIRAL AGENTS. THE RAPID DIAGNOSIS OF A VIRAL ANTIGEN WILL BENEFIT THE PATIENT AS WELL AS STREAMLINE LABORATORY TURNAROUND TIME.