Antigen and antibody in Aleutian disease in mink. II. The reaction of antibody with the Aleutian disease agent using immunodiffusion and immunoelectroosmophoresis.

Aleutian disease viral (ADV) antigen was prepared by fluorocarbon extraction of spleen, liver, and lymph nodes from mink experimentally infected ten days previously. Using a potent ADV antigen, antibody was detected by immunodiffusion (ID) and immunoelectroosmophoresis (IEOP). Utilizing these precipitin tests, antibody was detected in all the mink sera tested as early as seven days after experimental infection. Titer of antibody increased throughout the infection period. Titers of more than 100 were reached by 15 days post infection, titers of 1,000 at one month, and titers of more than 5,000 to 10,000 were achieved at two months post infection and thereafter. The immunodiffusion test gave similar or slightly lower titers than those detected by the IEOP. The IEOP test promises to be a most useful technique for the diagnosis of aleutian disease because it is simple, rapid and specific and is capable of detecting infection early in the course of the disease. It is suggested that this test should be utilized especially for the screening of animals purchased or imported as breeding stock onto ranches.