DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANTIGEN-CAPTURE ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY FOR DETECTION OF ENTEROVIRUS IN COMMERCIAL TURKEYS

Diagnosis of enterovirus infection in turkey poults is currently done using electron microscopy. We have developed an antigen-capture enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for use in diagnosis of enteroviru s infection in turkey intestinal contents. Intestinal contents from na turally and experimentally infected turkey poults were evaluated for t he presence of astrovirus and enterovirus by immune electron microscop y (IEM). The results were compared with the findings obtained using th e ELISA for the presence of enterovirus. The ELISA, using the samples from the naturally infected poults, had a sensitivity of 0.963 and a s pecificity of 0.879. The Kappa value of 0.834 for the naturally infect ed samples and 0.97 for the experimentally infected samples showed exc ellent agreement between the ELISA and IEM for detection of enteroviru s. Our results indicate that the ELISA is a rapid, sensitive, and spec ific method for diagnosis of turkey enterovirus infection.