title: Comparison of an antigen capture enzyme-linked assay with reverse transcription--polymerase chain reaction and cell culture immunoperoxidase tests for the diagnosis of ruminant pestivirus infections.
abstract: A study to compare the merits of three different tests for the diagnosis of ruminant pestivirus infections was carried out. Sensitivity studies using reference strains of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) and buffy coat samples from persistently infected (PI) carriers showed the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) had a greater sensitivity than the other tests. The antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was least sensitive and could only be used on samples containing cells (tissue or blood). When 169 clinical samples were examined, the RT-PCR detected the most positives (42) compared to the ELISA (32) and the immunoperoxidase test (IPT) (20). The RT-PCR was more successful when specific antibody was also present in the sample. The lower sensitivity of the IPT was related to the use of a 1 passage (4-day) test and the testing of toxic or contaminated samples. The ELISA was found to be most suitable for large-scale testing for the diagnosis and control of pestivirus infections.
authors.affiliation: Central Animal Health Laboratory, Wallaceville Animal Research Centre, MAF Quality Management, Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Horner
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tham
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ralston
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Houghton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001912:Bovine Virus Diarrhea-Mucosal Disease / Q000821:virology*; D002417:Cattle; D001908:Diarrhea Viruses, Bovine Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase