Affiliation:
1. Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
To eliminate cytotoxic effects of colostrum on cells, a modified virus neutralization test (VNT) for the detection of Bovine viral diarrhea virus–specific neutralizing antibodies in colostrum was developed. The new test was compared to the World Organization for Animal Health–recommended VNT and the results evaluated. The agreement of the new test compared to the standard VNT was determined to be 98%, whereas sensitivity and specificity of the modified VNT compared to the standard VNT were 100%. Bovine viral diarrhea virus–specific antibodies were detected in 42 sera samples and 38 colostrum samples. The antibody titers in serum and colostrum showed a high correlation ( n = 56, r = 0.9719, P < 0.001). The modified virus neutralization technique described herein succeeds in eliminating cytotoxic effects and can be readily applied for the detection of specific antibodies against other infectious agents in colostrum.