Detection of antibodies to structural proteins of foot-and-mouth disease virus in swine meat juice.

Established test methods for detecting foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) rely on sample collection from live animals. However, circumstances exist in which it is not possible to collect the desired samples. Meat juice has been explored as an alternative for the detection of FMDV and has previously proven successful by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and lateral flow strip test. Meat juice has not yet been assessed for the detection of antibodies to FMDV. This study, therefore, evaluated meat juice for the detection of antibodies to structural proteins by existing serotype-specific solid phase competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Antibodies to FMDV structural proteins were detected in meat juice from experimentally infected pigs beginning 6- or 7-days post-infection (DPI) and continued until 21 to 28 DPI. Sera were tested in tandem and followed similar antibody detection patterns. The results show that meat juice can be used for detection of anti- FMDV structural protein antibodies.