The Rapid detection of bovine respiratory syncytial virus antigens by use of a commercial enzyme immunoassay

Abstract

Diagnosis of infections with BRSV have previously been limited to histopathologic descriptions of atypical interstitial pneumonia with microscopic lesions of large, multinucleated giant cells and syncytial cells in the lung. False negative fluorescent antibody (FA) tests on tissue sections may be a result of a viral infection of only superficial bronchial cells. Virus isolation is even a less successful method of identification than FA with a report in one study of 1.7% positive isolations. Most isolates require numerous subpassaging before a cytopathic effect is noticed, but even after numerous passages, the viral titers remain low. Another method for identifying current infections with BRSV is the indirect fluorescent antibody on paired sera to detect a rise in antibody titer. New rapid assays for diagnosing human respiratory syncytial virus have been compared to the slower and less sensitive conventional methods of serology and viral isolation.

The enzyme immunoassays have been found to be a highly sensitive and specific technique for the identification of human respiratory syncytial virus antigens. The antigenic similarities between bovine and human respiratory syncytial virus allowed the use of the human assay for the detection of the bovine virus. The Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory evaluated the Abbott TestPack^® RSV, which requires less than 30 minutes, and compared it to the slower determinations of virology, necropsy, histopathology and bacteriology.