The Utility of Antibodies in Saliva to Measure Pathogen Exposure and Infection

Saliva contains pathogen-specific antibodies that can provide quantitative information on the type and temporality of infection. As such, saliva as a biospecimen can be used to noninvasively assess seroconversion to infectious pathogens in the clinical setting as well as for epidemiological surveillance, improving understanding of the epidemiology and natural history of infectious diseases. While saliva is not ideal for analysis of all infectious diseases, it remains a valuable means for data collection across populations varying in age, geographic location, and health status. Developments in the field could allow for rapid testing of exposure to infectious agents through point-of-care assays in areas where blood-based assays or laboratory analysis would be impractical. Here we review the advantages and disadvantages of using salivary assays to assess infectious disease exposure and infection in different settings and explore future directions.