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Improving sensitivity of oral fluid testing in IgG prevalence studies: application of mixture models to a rubella antibody survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2003

N. J. GAY
Affiliation:
Immunisation Division, PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK
A. J. VYSE
Affiliation:
Immunisation Division, PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK
F. ENQUSELASSIE
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
W. NIGATU
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious and Other Disease Research, Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
D. J. NOKES
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK Present address: Wellcome Trust Research Labs, Kenya Units, PO Box 230, Kilifi, Kenya.
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Abstract

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A method for the analysis of age-stratified antibody prevalence surveys is applied to a previously reported survey of antibody to rubella virus using oral fluid samples in which the sensitivity of the assay used was shown to be compromised. The age-specific distribution of the quantitative results of antibody tests using oral fluids is modelled as a mixture of strong positive, weak positive and negative components. This yields maximum likelihood estimates of the prevalence at each age and demonstrates that, when used in conjunction with mixture modelling techniques, the results of antibody prevalence studies using oral fluids accurately reflect those obtained using sera.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press