title: Comparison of four diagnostic methods for detecting rabies viruses circulating in Korea.
abstract: It is essential to rapidly and precisely diagnose rabies. In this study, we evaluated four diagnostic methods, indirect fluorescent antibody test (FAT), virus isolation (VI), reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and rapid immunodiagnostic assay (RIDA), to detect rabies in animal brain homogenates. Out of the 110 animal brain samples tested, 20 (18.2%) were positive for rabies according to the FAT. Compared to the FAT, the sensitivities of VI, RT-PCR, and RIDA were 100, 100, and 95%, respectively. The specificities of VI, RT-PCR and RIDA were found to be 100, 100, and 98.9%, respectively. Rabies viruses circulating in Korea were isolated and propagated in murine neuroblastoma (NG108-15) cells with titers ranging from 10(1.5) to 10(4.5) TCID(50)/mL. Although the RIDA findings did not completely coincide with results obtained from FAT, VI, and RT-PCR, RIDA appears to be a fast and reliable assay that can be used to analyze brain samples. In summary, the results from our study showed that VI, RT-PCR, and RIDA can be used as supplementary diagnostic tools for detecting rabies viruses in both laboratory and field settings.
authors.affiliation: Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency, Anyang 430-757, Korea. yangdk@korea.kr
authors.forename: Dong-Kun
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Eun-Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Yoon-I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Kyung-Woo
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chung-San
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seo-Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jeong-A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae-Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary*; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000662:veterinary*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011818:Rabies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D011820:Rabies virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral