Use of dot-immunobinding assay for visual detection of rinderpest antibodies in vaccinated cattle

A dot-immunobinding (DIB) assay was used to detect rinderpest antibodies in cattle vaccinated with Kabete 'O' strain vaccine, using purified rinderpest virus. Of 120 serum samples from vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals, rinderpest antibodies were detected in 80%, 88.4% and 91.6% of samples at 2, 3 and 4 weeks postvaccination respectively. All the serum samples from non-vaccinated animals were negative. The DIB results had a good correlation with those of the micro neutralisation test. The technique is simple, easy to perform and suitable for routine use in detecting rinderpest antibodies following vaccination.