[Study of the indirect complement fixation test for use in the differentiation of foot-and-mouth disease viruses and the determination of immunity].

Studies were carried out to establish the optimal conditions for the indirect complement-fixation test (ICFT) and explore the possibility to use the test in differentiating the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) viruses and checking the immunity obtained in survivals or in animals that had been vaccinated against FMD. It was demonstrated that the proper use of ICFT necessitates in turn the use of a minimal amount of antigen, which in the presence of 1-2 E homologous hyperimmune serum completely binds the 1 E complement. Results showed that the sera of survived or vaccinated animals contain specific antibodies of titers of 1:4 up to 1:256. The latter depended on the type of vaccine, the amount of antigen in the vaccinal dose, and the time period from the immunization or survival up to the time of taking the serum samples. It is pointed out that ICFT is a sensitive and specific method for the differentiation of FMD viruses and the study of animals' immunity against FMD.