Utilization of follow-up specimens from viremic blood donors to assess the value of west nile virus immunoglobulin G avidity as an indicator of recent infection.

Abstract

The value of West Nile virus immunoglobulin G avidity for distinguishing recent from past infection was investigated using 348 follow-up specimens from 170 viremic blood donors. Low avidity accurately indicated infection within the previous 4 months. However, due to rapid avidity maturation in some individuals, high avidity did not accurately indicate past infection.