EVALUATION OF AN ANTIGEN-CAPTURE ELISA FOR DETECTION OF BOVINE VIRAL DIARRHEA VIRUS IN CATTLE BLOOD-SAMPLES

From blood samples routinely received for bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) diagnosis, 860 samples without antibodies to BVD virus were examined i n both virus isolation and in an antigen-detecting enzyme-linked immun osorbent assay (ELISA) based on monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against t he nonstructural BVD virus protein p125/p80. A total of 843 samples (9 8%) were positive (n = 170, 20%) or negative (n = 673, 78%) in both te sts, corresponding to an agreement of kappa = 0.94. Among 17 samples w ith diverging results, 3 were from animals transiently infected with B VD virus, and 5 came from clinically affected animals. The reactivity of the MAbs was controlled against 387 field isolates of BVD virus. Al l were detected by the MAbs, thereby confirming the general view that the p125 virus protein is highly conserved among different BVD viruses .