ELISA method for detection of influenza A infection in swine

Department of Veterinary PathoBiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, St. Paul 55108.

An antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to monitor virus shedding associated with experimental infection with a field strain of swine influenza in pigs. The assay consisted of a monoclonal anti-nucleoprotein capture antibody and a biotinylated rabbit anti-influenza A (H1N1) sandwich antibody. The antigen-capture system was capable of detecting as little as 1 ng/ml purified virus. The ELISA system surpassed egg cultivation procedures in the detection of low levels of shedding virus. Egg cultivation procedures indicated that most viral shedding had ceased by day 10 postinfection. In contrast, antigen-capture ELISA still showed an ongoing presence of viral antigen. A virus-capture ELISA, using this capture-sandwich antibody system, is equivalent in sensitivity to conventional egg inoculation procedures for the detection of the early phases of virus shedding. The automative potential of an ELISA-based system coupled with a substantially reduced assay time requirement give this virus-capture ELISA a distinct advantage over other cell culture or egg-based diagnostic techniques.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Leuwerke, P. Kitikoon, R. Evans, and E. Thacker Comparison of three serological assays to determine the cross-reactivity of antibodies from eight genetically diverse U.S. Swine influenza viruses J Vet Diagn Invest, July 1, 2008; 20(4): 426 - 432. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]