Flow cytometric and conventional fluorescence microscopic methods were compared to detect heterologous (rabbit) neutrophil antibody bound to equine neutrophils. Unfixed and paraformaldehyde-fixed neutrophils were treated with normal rabbit serum or various dilutions of an antineutrophil serum. The cells were then reacted with fluorescein conjugates of goat anti-rabbit IgG, staphylococcal protein A, and streptococcal protein G. Antibody binding was evaluated by use of fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Unfixed neutrophils treated with normal rabbit serum did not fluoresce, whereas many of the fixed neutrophils had distinct cytoplasmic and some membranous (nonspecific) fluorescence. Unfixed cells treated with the antiserum had localized areas (capping) of intense membrane fluorescence, whereas fixed cells had bright uniform membranous fluorescence. The intensity of specific fluorescence varied with the antiserum dilution and the conjugate. On flow cytometry, over 80% of unfixed cells treated with antiserum dilutions up to 1:1,024, 1:2,048, and 1:256 fluoresced, respectively, with anti-IgG, protein-G, and protein-A conjugates. Fixed cells generally had similar percentages of fluorescent cells, but at a higher (1-step) antiserum dilution. It was concluded that flow cytometry is more sensitive than conventional fluorescence microscopy to detect antibodies associated with equine neutrophils.

A technique for detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) from circulating blood leukocytes, using the polymerase chain reaction, is described. The published nucleotide sequences of 2 strains of BVDV and that of hog cholera virus were aligned and the information was used to design oligonucleotides coding for 2 regions of amino acid homology. The oligonucleotides were a mixed population including all possible codons for the conserved amino acids. These degenerate oligonucleotides were used in the polymerase chain reaction to detect viral RNA in cells infected in vitro, or in circulating blood leukocytes from infected animals. Virus was detected in over 60 samples from diverse isolates. The detection of BVDV by the polymerase chain reaction is a rapid, sensitive, and specific technique, which represents an improvement over existing technology.

Conditions for psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) virus hemagglutination and hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test reactions are defined. The PBFD virus was found to hemagglutinate cockatoo and some guinea pig erythrocytes. The HI test was used to assay serum antibody titer in birds with active PBFD virus infections and in others that had been exposed to diseased birds. On the basis of HI antibody titers in psittacine birds that had been exposed to PBFD virus, but remained clinically normal, we suggest that some birds exposed to the virus are able to mount an effective immune response. Birds with active PBFD virus infections had lower antibody values than did birds that had been exposed to the virus, but remained clinically normal. On the basis of these findings, the ability to develop a suitable HI antibody response may be crucial in determining the disease status of susceptible birds exposed to the PBFD virus. If HI antibodies are found to have neutralizing activity, then the fact that a high HI titer was induced in birds inoculated with purified PBFD virus might suggest that an immunization program would be effective in preventing PBFD virus infections.

Using a heat and sonicated Mycobacteriumparatuberculosis Cordoba antigen (COA1) and the commercial protoplasmic-antigen (PPA-3) as antigens, an ELISA for detecting goat antibodies was standardized. When 2 reference populations, 1 positive (17 goats) and the other negative (63 goats) to disease, were used, this test showed 87.5% sensitivity and 93.6% specificity for COA1, and 88.2 and 95.2%, respectively for PPA-3. Absorption with M phlei was performed; no significant differences were found for COA1, but a lower sensitivity was found with PPA-3. This test was not especially affected by cross-reactivity with other mycobacterial disease because when 9 goats with M bovis infection were included in the M paratuberculosis control group, the specificity was only slightly different for absorbed (94.4%) and nonabsorbed sera (91.7%) for COA1, and (93.1 and 94.4%, respectively) for PPA-3. This test was used to study the percentage of seropositive goats for M paratuberculosis in 3 herds with different prevalences. Among 251 goats in southern Spain (Huelva), 40% were found positive for COA1, and 41% for PPA-3. Among 242 goats studied in southern Spain (Cordoba), 10.0% were positive for COA1 and 13.0% for PPA-3. In the Canary Island population of 176 goats, 3% were positive for COA1 and 0.5% for PPA-3. According to the accuracies of both positive and negative predictions, our test could be applied to populations with high prevalence to prevent additions to the herd and to cull infected animals (with 40% prevalence, the positive and negative predictive values are 90%), and to prevent adding infected animals to populations with moderate or low prevalence.