Comparison of the sensitivity of ELISA and the haemagglutination-inhibition test for routine diagnosis of rubella.

A total of 500 paired sera were tested for rubella antibodies by the rubella IgG ELISA and the haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test. Significant differences between the antibody level in the first and second samples of 417 serum pairs were not detected by either of the tests, whereas significant increases in 71 pairs were detected by both methods. A significant increase of the level in 12 serum pairs was demonstrated by the ELISA, but not by the HI test. The rubella IgG ELSIA is more sensitive than the HI test for diagnosis of recent rubella.