Fluorescent Antibody, Complement Fixation Method for Detection of Dengue Viruses in Mice

The complement fixation fluorescent antibody (CF-FA) test was used for the detection of several types of dengue viruses, using serum of types 1 through 4, TH-36 and TH-Sman, in dilutions comparable to those of the conventional CF tests employed in this laboratory. Two-way cross-reaction experiments were done to determine the extent of CF-FA staining among dengues 1 and 3, Japanese B encephalitis, Murray Valley encephalitis and Eastern equine encephalomyelitis arboviruses and their respective antisera. Although cross-reactions could be observed among certain group B agents they did not cross with the representative of group A. It was also shown that the CF-FA test could detect inapparent dengue infection in two early (blind) passages of the unadapted dengue type 3 prototype strain.