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Typing foot-and-mouth disease virus by fluorescent antibody technique

National Institute of Animal Health Quarterly
|January 1, 1976
PubMed

Insights

Direct fluorescent antibody (FA) techniques accurately identified foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus types. Two FA methods, using live or inactivated virus, successfully typed all 17 FMD virus strains tested.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Virology
  • Immunology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals.
  • Accurate and rapid virus typing is crucial for effective disease control and surveillance.
  • The direct fluorescent antibody (FA) technique offers a potential method for rapid FMD virus identification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and evaluate type-specific direct fluorescent antibody (FA) reagents for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus identification.
  • To compare the efficacy of FA reagents prepared against live versus inactivated FMD virus.
  • To assess the reliability of the FA technique for typing diverse FMD virus strains.

Main Methods:

  • Preparation of type-specific FA reagents using two distinct procedures: FA against live virus (FA-live) and FA against inactivated virus (FA-Inact).
  • Immunization of guinea pigs with live FMD virus or purified inactivated FMD virus.
  • Adsorption of FA-live reagents with heterotypic antigen to enhance specificity.
  • Infection of BHK cell monolayers with 17 FMD virus strains (7 type A, 7 type O, 3 type C).
  • Acetone or methyl alcohol fixation of infected cells followed by staining with prepared FA reagents.

Main Results:

  • Type-specific FMD virus antigen was distinctly detected in acetone-fixed infected cells using both FA-live and FA-Inact reagents.
  • Negative results were obtained when using methyl alcohol-fixed cells.
  • All 17 FMD virus strains, representing types A, O, and C, were successfully typed using the developed FA methods.
  • The FA technique demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for FMD virus typing.

Conclusions:

  • The direct fluorescent antibody (FA) technique, utilizing reagents prepared against live or inactivated FMD virus and acetone fixation, is a reliable method for type-specific FMD virus identification.
  • This technique provides a rapid and accurate diagnostic tool for FMD surveillance and control programs.
  • Further validation in diagnostic settings is recommended to confirm its utility in diverse epidemiological scenarios.

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