Comparison of egg-yolk and serum antibody titers to four avian viruses by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using paired field samples.

Eggs and blood were collected from 11 hens in each of nine broiler-breeder flocks in Quebec. Serum and egg-yolk extracts were assayed for antibody titers to infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), and reovirus (RV) by a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Comparison was made between egg-yolk and serum antibody titers by a regression analysis. A high correlation was observed between serum and yolk antibody titers to all the viruses tested (r = 0.9 for IBDV, 0.84 for IBV, 0.84 for NDV, and 0.91 for RV). Antibody monitoring of commercial breeder flocks using egg yolk instead of serum with commercial ELISA plates is thus feasible and is recommended.