PORCINE CIRCOVIRUS TYPE 2 : ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) FOR THE DETECTION OF ANTIGEN AND ANTIBODIES IN FECES

摘要

Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS), a swine disease first identified in 1991, in Canada, has been since observed in the United States, Europe, and other Asian countries. Porcine Circovirus genotype 2 (PCV2), genetically related but different by its nucleic acid sequence from PCV1, the latter known to be an innocuous contaminant of the PK-15 cell-line, was shown to be associated with the disease. Ultimately, the definitive diagnosis of a PCV-related disease will be based on the presenceof the PCV2 and /or other contributing viruses, associated with lesions in diseased pigs (1,2,3). The presence of PCV2 in swine can be demonstrated indirectly, by the detection of serum antibodies or, preferably, directly, by the detection of viral antigen or nucleic acid in various tissues. However, for large surveys and herd screenings, the presence of antibodies in serum is of poor value, antigen is not easily detected in blood or serum and PCR remains difficult to apply to large numbers of samples.We report here on the development of an antibody-detection blocking ELISA and an antigen-detection capture ELISA, both optimized for fecal samples. Also reported is an improved correlation with the presence of PCV2, shown by PCR, when results obtained with both tests are considered together.