Antibody estimation by indirect complement fixation test for foot-and-mouth disease in cattle.

Antibody against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus was measured by the indirect complement fixation (ICF) test. For this test serum samples were collected from cattle experimentally infected with FMD virus of O, A and Asia 1 types, as well as cattle infected in the field. Two types of antigen were used. One was antigen derived from infected lingual epithelial culture prepared by Frenkel's method with each type of the virus. The other was antigen derived from the lingual epithelium of cattle infected by virus inoculation. ICF antibody began to be dectected about 4 5 days after inoculation. It reached a maximum titer 10 14 days after inoculation, remaining at this titer for about a week or two, and then decreased gradually. It was, however, detectable even 63 days after inoculation. The rise and fall of ICF antibody was parallel with that of neutralizing antibody, although that antibody was always lower in titer than this. ICF antibody was detected type-specifically from cattle infected experimentally and naturally. These results indicated that the ICF test was available for the routine serological diagnosis and epizootiological investigation and research.