Abstract
A peroxidase linked assay (PLA) was designed to screen bovine sera for the presence of specific antibodies against bovine leukosis virus (BLV). Out of 201 samples of bovine sera analyzed, 52.2% were considered positive by PLA, 26.4% by AGID, and 38.9% by ELISA. Western blotting analyses excluded 27 samples found to be positive by PLA. PLA showed 100% of sensitivity when compared with AGID and ELISA. Specificity was 64.8% and 78%, respectively (kappa coefficients were 0.70 and 0.83). These findings indicate that PLA can be used as an alternative method for the diagnosis of BLV infection in cattle.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We are grateful to Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes) for financial support.
Notes
AGID, agar gel immunodiffusion assay; PLA, peroxidase linked assay; WB, Western blot; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; +, positive result; −, negative result.