DETECTION OF ANTIBODIES AGAINST THE CLASS ICAL SWINE FEVER VIRUS BY ENZYME-LINKED-IMMUNOSORBENT-ASSAY (ELISA)

Classical swine fever (CSF) is an important worldwide disease. In Chil e, it is subject to a control and erradication programme. The objectiv e of the present assay was to standardize an immunoenzimatic technique (CIV-ELISA) that detects antibodies of the IgG type directed against the CSF virus and to compare it with seroneutralization. Twenty hybrid Landrace x Large White pigs with a live weight of 20 kg were used. Th ey were experimentally inoculated with a dose of 100.000 TCID50 of the Quillota virulent isolate of the CSF virus. A four-pig group was vacc inated 14 days before inoculation. Blood samples were taken 3, 6, 9, 1 2 and 14 days post-inoculation. Serological samples were obtained from 100 sows. The anti-CSF antibodies were determined for a policlonal CI V-ELISA and were compared with a seroneutralization test (serological official test). The CIV-ELISA test did not detect antibodies in the ex perimentally inoculated pigs until day 14 post-inoculation. However, t he positive-sera condition of previously vaccinated pigs was ratified by the seroneutralization test. The sensibility and specificity of the CIV-ELISA was about 90.1% and 76.4% respectively. The CIV-ELISA is an easy-to-apply test and the results obtained are similar to those obta ined with seroneutralization.