Serological testing for immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies to Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is useful for diagnosing acute hepatitis E. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of chemiluminescence immunoassay (HEV IgM; Vircell, Granada, Spain) in comparison with a manual enzyme immunoassay (Anti‐HEV virus; Wantai, Beijing, China) for anti‐HEV IgM detection. Seventeen HEV‐RNA positive and 69 HEV‐RNA negative sera were tested by both assays. Virclia sensitivity was 94.1%, whereas that of the enzyme immunosorbent assay (EIA) was 76.5%; specificity was 98.5% and 97.1% for Virclia and EIA, respectively. Differences between both assays were not statistically significant. Virclia HEV IgM showed excellent performance and can be a good alternative to conventional enzyme immunoassays for the detection of IgM against HEV.

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