Antigenic differentiation of pestivirus strains with monoclonal antibodies against hog cholera virus.

Thirty-one bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) or border disease virus (BDV) strains and 94 hog cholera virus (HCV) strains were grown in cell culture, and characterized by immunostaining with 13 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and one polyclonal serum (PAb) against HCV. All 125 strains were recognized by the PAb. None of the BVDV or BDV strains were detected by the 13 MAbs. Seven MAbs detected all 94 HCV strains. Six other MAbs detected heterogeneity among and within HCV strains. The MAbs are useful tools in differentiating between HCV and BVDV infections in pigs, and can also be used to differentiate infections induced by HCV field strains from infections induced by the "Chinese" strain of vaccine virus.