Cross-reactivity Test of Commercial Rotavirus and Adenovirus Antigen Detection Kits with Enteric Bacterial Strains

Abstract

Infectious gastroenteritis can be caused by viral, bacterial, or parasitic pathogens, and accurate identification of the causative agent is essential for appropriate treatment.Rotavirus and adenovirus antigen detection kits are widely used for the rapid diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis; however, if these assays do not possess sufficient specificity to distinguish target pathogens from nontarget pathogens, diagnostic accuracy may be compromised.This study evaluated the potential cross-reactivity of rotavirus and adenovirus antigen detection kits with reference to strains of common enteric pathogenic bacteria.Eight bacterial reference strains, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella enterica subsp.enterica serovar Paratyphi A, S. enterica subsp.enterica serovar Typhi, S. enterica subsp.enterica serovar Agona, and S. enterica (serogroup B) strains, were cultured and adjusted to a 0.5 McFarland standard.Samples were analyzed using a conventional rapid antigen detection kit and a fluorescence immunoassay (FIA)-based rotavirus and adenovirus antigen detection kit with a STANDARD F2400 analyzer.All bacterial strains tested negative in both diagnostic assays.A fluorescent signal of 0.67 was observed for E. coli O157:H7 in a single FIA measurement; however, this value was below the positivity cut-off value of 1.0, and repeated analysis yielded a value of 0.00.Furthermore, none of the tested strains exceeded the positive threshold in either assay.These findings demonstrated that the evaluated rotavirus and adenovirus antigen detection kits did not exhibit detectable cross-reactivity with the tested bacterial enteric pathogens, supporting their analytical specificity for the diagnosis of viral gastroenteritis.