Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1735-1502 2 3 2003 09 15 149 154 Talat Mokhtari Azad Anahid Ehteda Parvin Yavari R. Hamkar Zahra Safar Pour M. Essalat Rakhsheh Nategh 2015 10 01 Laboratory diagnosis of acute measles is usually achieved by serology assays for measle-specific IgM antibody. For comparison of measle-specific IgM antibody in saliva and serum, 95 paired blood and saliva samples were collected 1-14 days after the onset of rash. The specimens were tested for specific IgM antibody by an IgM antibody-capture Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA). Measles IgM antibody was detected in 89 (93.7%) of serum samples and in 85(89.5%) of saliva specimens. Of the 6(6.3%) serum samples that were IgM antibody-negative, 2 (2.1 %) of the paired saliva samples were IgM antibody-positive. The sensitivity and specificity of saliva testing compared with serum was 95.5% and 66.7% respectively. Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of saliva testing were 97.7% and 50.0% respectively and the accuracy of saliva testing was 93.7%. Our results indicate that saliva samples provided Enzyme Immunoassay results that were in good agreement with results from serum samples. Salivary IgM antibody detection is a suitable non-invasive method for diagnosing recent measles infections and epidemiological studies, especially in children. https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/view/48 https://ijaai.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijaai/article/download/48/48