This kit contains one microwell plate and sufficient reagents to test up to 92 test specimens. The 96-well microwell plate comprises 8-well strips giving flexibility in the assay size.

The Disease
Herpes is a chronic viral infection with no current cure or vaccine. Once infected individuals carry the virus for life. There are two types of herpes simplex virus – type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) and they are difficult to differentiate. HSV-1 tends to be acquired during childhood and is most frequently associated with oro-facial lesions, while HSV-2 is generally considered to be a sexually transmitted infection. And although this division is not invariable, it is generally recognised that HSV-2 gives rise to a more serious genital infection in which ulceration is both more severe and is more frequently symptomatic.
Clinical Features
Type 2 Herpes simplex virus (HSV-2) is a major cause of genital ulcer disease worldwide. Seroprevalance surveys have suggested that as many as 15% of the adult population are infected in Europe, 22% in North America and 50% in Africa. Additionally, the incidence of HSV-2 is increasing in many populations around the world.
The infection is characterised by symptomatic periods in between periods of latency. Viral shedding from the vaginal tract can give rise to neonatal infection. This can range from mild disease to a fatal disseminated infection but overall the risk of neurological complications in the neonate is very high. Another major concern is the role of genital HSV-2 infection in facilitating HIV transmission. The two infections appear to exacerbate each other; genital ulceration in an HIV negative individual increases the risk of acquiring HIV but it also appears to increase the infectivity of individuals who are HIV positive. The association with HSV-2 and HIV infections is leading several research groups to design intervention studies with the aim of reducing the HIV incidence in developing countries.
Problems with laboratory diagnosis
Virological methods can be used to detect and distinguish infections but a major drawback is that virus may if often not detectable in between episodes of disease. Techniques such as Western Blotting and blocking assays are able overcome these limitations by detecting type-specific antibodies to HSV-2 and may be available in a few specialised laboratories.
In contrast, many simple serological assays that make use of whole virus or purified glycoproteins do not distinguish between the HSV types and as HSV-1 infections are far more common, the predictive power of these tests is negligible.
The Kalon Biological 2 HSV type 2 IgG test overcomes these drawbacks by making use of a unique modified recombinant gG2 giving the assay a high sensitivity and specificity.
The Kalon Biological HSV2 IgG ELISA
The Kalon Biological HSV2 IgG ELISA has all the expected convenience and safety features including in-well dilutions and colour coded reagents. With three 30 minute incubations, results can be read within 2 hours. But what results to expect?

The test was compared to other commercially available kits for its ability to accurately detect HSV-2 antibodies in a large study of sera from Kenya, Zambia, Benin and Cameroon. The study found the Kalon Biological HSV2 IgG ELISA to have the best performance with a relative sensitivity 92.3% and a relative specificity of 97.7%. These results indicate that the Kalon Biological HSV2 IgG ELISA is the kit of choice for research studies where there is a need to detect antibodies to HSV-2, for example HIV intervention studies.

A recent study concluded that “the Kalon Herpes Simplex type 2 IgG ELISA is a reliable stand-alone method for on-site HSV-2 IgG detection.”

References
• Performance of Commercially Available Enzyme Immunoassays for Detection of Antibodies against Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 in African Populations.
  E. Van Dyck, A. Buvé, H.A. Weiss, J.R. Glynn, D.W.G. Brown, B. De Deken, J. Parry, R.J. Hayes.
  J. Clin. Microbio., 2004, 41(11), 2961-2965.
• Precision of the Kalon Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 IgG ELISA: an international inter-laboratory assessment.
  Eshan U. Patel, Jordyn Manucci, Erin M. Kahle, Jairam R. Lingappa, Rhoda Ashley Morrow, Estelle Piwowar-Manning, Anelet James, Kwitaka F. Maluzi, Maina M. Cheeba, Glenda Gray, Barry Kosloff, Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Mubiana Inambao, Bellington Vwalika, Thomas C. Quinn, and Oliver Laeyendecker
  BMC Infectious Diseases (2015) 15:398