COMPARISON OF ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY, ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY AND LATEX AGGLUTINATION FOR THE DETECTION OF BOVINE ROTAVIRUS IN FECES

The performance characteristics of 2 enzyme immunoassays (ELISAs) and 4 latex agglutination assays (LXs) were evaluated for the detection of bovine rotavirus in faecal specimens of young calves with diarrhoea. A total of 26 specimens from calves less than 5 months of age were exa mined with different commercial assays and compared with electron micr oscopy (EM) as the gold standard and with polyacrylamide gel electroph oresis (PAGE) for the detection of atypical, non-group A rotaviruses. In the 2nd study, EIA (Dako) and LX (Murex), the assays of choice, wer e used to analyse 97 further faecal specimens from calves with diarrho ea. The ELISAs proved to be the most sensitive compared with the other tests used. The EM and PAGE are 100 % specific although slightly less sensitive than the commercial assays. The results show that all the c ommercial assays can accurately detect rotavirus in the stools of calv es with gastroenteritis, although the suitability and choice of assay will depend upon the requirements of individual laboratories.