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Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Field Postmortem Rabies Rapid Immunochromatographic Diagnostic Test for Resource-Limited Settings with Further Molecular Applications
Published on: June 29, 2020
A rapid one-step immunochromatographic test strip for rabies detection using canine serum samples
1State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing Scientific Observation and Experiment Station for Veterinary Drug and Veterinary Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing, China; Guangxi Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Nanning, China.
A new immunochromatographic test strip detects rabies antibodies in dogs. This rapid, low-cost method shows high accuracy, aiding disease control in developing countries.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Diagnostics
- Immunology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Rabies poses a significant threat to public health, necessitating effective disease control strategies.
- Current diagnostic methods for rabies antibody detection can be time-consuming and require expensive equipment.
- Developing rapid, affordable, and accurate diagnostic tools is crucial for rabies surveillance, especially in endemic regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel immunochromatographic test strip (ICTS) for the detection of rabies antibodies in canine serum.
- To evaluate the performance of the ICTS compared to Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).
Main Methods:
- Development of an ICTS utilizing colloidal gold-coated staphylococcal protein A (SPA).
- Coating of test (T) and control (C) lines with rabies virus phosphoprotein (RV-P) and anti-SPA polyclonal antibody, respectively.
- Testing of 165 canine serum samples and comparison with ELISA results.
Main Results:
- The ICTS demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy, with a specificity of 93.1% and sensitivity of 92.2%.
- The test strip provides a visual output (red precipitation) detectable by the naked eye.
- The method is rapid and does not require sophisticated instrumentation.
Conclusions:
- The developed ICTS is a simple, cost-effective, and accurate tool for detecting rabies antibodies in dogs.
- This technology has significant potential for disease monitoring and epidemiological control of rabies, particularly in resource-limited settings.
- The ICTS can aid in the surveillance of immunization status in rabies-endemic areas.
