Clinical Evaluation of the VirClia IgM/IgG Chemiluminescence Tests for the Diagnosis of Tick-Borne Encephalitis in an Endemic Part of Norway

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of VirClia IgM/IgG single-assay chemiluminescence tests for the diagnosis of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in an endemic part of Norway. Patients hospitalized at Vestfold or Telemark Hospitals with suspected infection in the central nervous system (CNS) in the period between May 2021 and December 2023 were included, with 85 TBE cases identified. The VirClia IgM assay was positive in the initial serum sample in 75/85 cases, giving a sensitivity of 88.2% (95% CI, 79.4–94.2). The ReaScan TBE IgM rapid test was positive in 80/85 cases, with an estimated sensitivity of 94.1% (95% CI, 86.8–98.1). Vaccine breakthrough infections were the predominant cause of non-reactive IgM cases. The calculated specificity for the VirClia IgM was 95.8% (95% CI, 92.5–98.0). In conclusion, the sensitivity of the VirClia IgM was non-inferior to the ReaScan TBE IgM rapid test. However, isolated IgM reactive results must be interpreted with caution, since false-reactive results occur.

Keywords

• tick-borne encephalitis
• serology
• tick
• flavivirus
• encephalitis
• VirClia