Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic test for the detection of norovirus in stool samples

Worldwide noroviruses are an important cause of gastroenteritis and are major agents of both sporadic as well as epidemic infection. Because of the rapid transmission of the virus, early detection is essential. Until recently, the available test methods for the detection in stool were enzyme immunoassays and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), both of which take several hours to perform. We evaluated the rapid immunochromatographic test RIDA®QUICK Norovirus for the detection of norovirus in the stool of patients with acute gastroenteritis. This test is easy to perform and read and only takes 20 min. The sensitivity and specificity compared to RT-PCR results and the positive and negative predictive values were 57.1%, 99.1%, 93.3% and 91.2%, respectively. The rapid test is useful for quick screening, but a negative result should be followed up by RT-PCR.