An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to maedi-visna virus.

ABSTRACT

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to maedi-visna virus (mvv) in sheep is described, in which microtitre plates are sensitized with a partly purified preparation of mvv. The antibodies bound are detected by a horseradish peroxidase conjugate. The results obtained with ELISA on a total of 493 serum samples from several commercial flocks were compared to those of a routine agar gel precipitation test (AGPT) and a complement fixation test (CFT). All samples which scored positive in AGPT, CFT or both (20.8%) were also found positive by ELISA. In addition, with ELISA a further 11.5% of the samples were positive. Serum samples from maedi-free flocks, from sheep suffering from sheep pulmonary adenomatosis and from lambs immunized against other viruses were all negative by ELISA. The assay has been used routinely for some years and proved to be specific, sensitive and suited for screening of large numbers of serum samples.