ELISA Tests and Contagion: What You Need to Know

[Echo]

I had to do an ELISA test in school, for EBV. I forgot to put gloves on :S

So now, about 5 days later, I'm starting to feel kinda ill, like flu or strep.. Throat hurts a bit, I'm pretty tired etc.
Could the ELISA test in any way be contagious? I don't quite understand if it could :(

 

[Monique]

No, otherwise it would be very irresponsible to use it in a school setting. What was the sample that was used for the test?

Remember to always wear gloves and wash your hands after doing experiments.

 

[Echo]

I think it was a test kit the teacher got, which included antigen, antibody, serum and substrate.. Yeah I didn't think it would be very responsible either :P But I had to know.

 

[Monique]

I think it was a test kit the teacher got, which included antigen, antibody, serum and substrate.. Yeah I didn't think it would be very responsible either :P But I had to know.

Ok, so the antigen of the kit is the 'sample'. This will be purified pieces of EBV proteins, which should not be contagious. There is nothing for you to worry about. The case would have been different if you had been working with actual infected body fluids, which you haven't.

Always work very carefully. I've heard of a case where a student got blood in her mouth from a patient, because she used a mouth pipet instead of an automatic one. You really do not want to make these kinds of mistakes.

 

[Echo]

Okay, thanks a lot :)

 

[Moonbear]

The whole point of using an ELISA is they are MUCH safer than radioimmunoassays that they have replaced. Nothing there but sandwiches of antibodies and some color tags on them.

More likely, you're just catching whatever bug your fellow students are spreading around the old-fashioned way of coughing and sneezing.