el Hasnaoui H, el Harrak M, Tber A, Fikri A, Laghzaoui K, Bikour M H
Laboratoire Régional d'Analyses et de Recherches Vétérinaires de Casablanca, Morocco.
Arch Virol Suppl. 1998;14:305-10. doi: 10.1007/978-3-7091-6823-3_26.
An indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) technique was used to screen and quantify antibodies against African horse sickness virus (AHSV) in equine sera. Results obtained with the IFA assay were compared directly with those obtained with standard complement fixation (CF) and virus neutralisation (VN) tests using horse sera from experimental studies and samples from the field. Positive fluorescent antibody titres were detected from as early as 7 days after primary vaccination and persisted for at least six months. The IFA technique offers a clear advantage over CF tests, where the antibodies are often of shorter duration and where sera from donkeys and mules are frequently anticomplementary. The sensitivity and specificity of the IFA test compared with the VN test were 98% and 83.3%, respectively. The IFA test is rapid, relatively easy to perform and inexpensive, and can be recommended as an alternative assay for screening different species of equidae in AHSV control and surveillance programmes.
