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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet Immunol Immunopathol / Comparison of assays for the detection of West Nile virus an...
Veterinary immunology and immunopathology2016; 183; 1-6; doi: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2016.10.015

Comparison of assays for the detection of West Nile virus antibodies in equine serum after natural infection or vaccination.

Abstract: West Nile virus (WNV) mainly infects birds, horses and humans. Outcomes of the infection range from mild uncharacteristic signs to fatal neurologic disease. The main objectives of the present study were to measure serum IgG and IgM antibodies in naturally exposed and vaccinated horses and to compare results of haemagglutination inhibition test (HIT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and plaque reduction neutralisation test (PRNT). Altogether 224 animals were tested by HIT for WNV antibodies and 41 horses were simultaneously examined by ELISA and PRNT. After primary screening for WNV antibodies, horses were vaccinated. Samples were taken immediately before and 3-5 weeks after each vaccination. McNemar's chi-squared and percent agreement tests were used to detect concordance between HIT, ELISA and PRNT. Analyses by HIT confirmed the presence of WNV antibodies in 27/105 (26%) naturally exposed horses. Sera from 57/66 (86%) vaccinated animals were positive before the first booster and from 11/11 (100%) before the second booster. HIT was less sensitive for detecting IgG antibodies. We could detect postvaccination IgM in 13 cases with IgM antibody capture ELISA (MAC-ELISA) and in 7 cases with HIT. WNV is endemic in Hungary and regularly causes natural infections. Protective antibodies could not be measured in some of the cases 12 months after primary vaccinations; protection is more reliable after the first yearly booster. Based on our findings it was not possible to differentiate infected from recently vaccinated horses using MAC-ELISA. HIT cannot be used as a substitute for ELISA or PRNT when detecting IgG, but it proved to be a useful tool in this study to gain statistical information about the tendencies within a fixed population of horses.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2016-11-03 PubMed ID: 28063471DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2016.10.015Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research study investigated different tests’ effectiveness for detecting West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies in horse blood serum. The research was prompted by the inability to discriminate infected horses from recently vaccinated ones in certain areas where WNV is endemic.

Objectives of the Study

  • The study’s primary aim was to evaluate serum antibodies in horses exposed to WNV naturally and vaccinated horses.
  • It compared the effectiveness of three tests: haemagglutination inhibition test (HIT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and plaque reduction neutralisation test (PRNT).

Methodology

  • A total of 224 horses were tested with HIT for the presence of WNV antibodies.
  • Of these, 41 were also tested with ELISA and PRNT.
  • After the initial screening, horses were vaccinated, and samples were taken right before and between 3-5 weeks after each vaccination.
  • The researchers used McNemar’s chi-squared and percent agreement tests to evaluate concordance between the three tests.

Findings

  • The analysis showed WNV antibodies were present in 26% of naturally exposed horses and in 86% of vaccinated animals before the first booster, increasing to 100% prior to the second booster.
  • However, the HIT test was found to be less sensitive in detecting IgG antibodies, a type of protein used by the immune system to neutralize pathogens.
  • The study could detect post-vaccination IgM, another antibody, in 13 cases with MAC-ELISA and 7 cases with HIT.

Implications

  • The results indicate that WNV is endemic in Hungary, where this study was conducted, causing frequent natural infections.
  • The research found that protective antibodies could not be measured in some cases 12 months after the primary vaccinations, indicating that protection is more reliable after the first yearly booster.
  • Based on the findings, it was not possible to differentiate infected from recently vaccinated horses using MAC-ELISA.
  • Although HIT was not a suitable replacement for ELISA or PRNT in detecting IgG antibodies, the study suggests that it can be useful to gather statistical information about trends within a fixed horse population.

Cite This Article

APA
Joó K, Bakonyi T, Szenci O, Sárdi S, Ferenczi E, Barna M, Malik P, Hubalek Z, Fehér O, Kutasi O. (2016). Comparison of assays for the detection of West Nile virus antibodies in equine serum after natural infection or vaccination. Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 183, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2016.10.015

Publication

Veterinary immunology and immunopathology
ISSN: 1873-2534
NlmUniqueID: 8002006
Country: Netherlands
Language: English
Volume: 183
Pages: 1-6
PII: S0165-2427(16)30232-X

Researcher Affiliations

Joó, Kinga
  • MTA-SZIE Large Animal Clinical Research Group, Dóra major, Üllő, 2225, Hungary; Kaposvár University, Doctoral School of Animal Science, Guba Sándor u. 40., Kaposvár, 7400, Hungary. Electronic address: joo.kinga@aotk.szie.hu.
Bakonyi, Tamás
  • University of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hungária krt. 23-25., Budapest, 1143, Hungary; Viral Zoonoses, Emerging and Vector-Borne Infections Group, Institute of Virology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: bakonyi.tamas@aotk.szie.hu.
Szenci, Ottó
  • MTA-SZIE Large Animal Clinical Research Group, Dóra major, Üllő, 2225, Hungary. Electronic address: szenci.otto@aotk.szie.hu.
Sárdi, Sára
  • Vet Agro Sup, Universite de Lyon, Cliniques Vétérinaires, Lyon, France. Electronic address: sardi.sara@gmail.com.
Ferenczi, Emőke
  • National Center for Epidemiology, National Reference Laboratory for Viral Zoonoses, Albert Flórián út 2-6, Budapest, 1097, Hungary. Electronic address: ferenczi.emoke@oek.antsz.hu.
Barna, Mónika
  • University of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Hungária krt. 23-25., Budapest, 1143, Hungary. Electronic address: monika.barna@aotk.szie.hu.
Malik, Péter
  • National Food Chain Safety Office, Veterinary Diagnostic Directorate, Tábornok u. 2., 1143, Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: malik.peter@aotk.szie.hu.
Hubalek, Zdenek
  • Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences, Kvetna 8, 60365, Brno, Czechia. Electronic address: zhubalek@brno.cas.cz.
Fehér, Orsolya
  • MTA-SZIE Large Animal Clinical Research Group, Dóra major, Üllő, 2225, Hungary. Electronic address: ezustezust@gmail.com.
Kutasi, Orsolya
  • MTA-SZIE Large Animal Clinical Research Group, Dóra major, Üllő, 2225, Hungary; University of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Animal Breeding, Nutrition and Laboratory Animal Science, István utca 2, 1078, Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: kutasi.orsolya@aotk.szie.hu.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
  • Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / blood
  • Horse Diseases / immunology
  • Horse Diseases / virology
  • Horses
  • Viral Vaccines / immunology
  • West Nile Fever / immunology
  • West Nile Fever / veterinary
  • West Nile virus

Citations

This article has been cited 11 times.
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    doi: 10.1111/jvim.70176pubmed: 40525557google scholar: lookup
  9. Kälin D, Becsek A, Stürmer H, Bachofen C, Siegrist D, Jonsdottir HR, Schoster A. Immune Response after Vaccination against Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus (TBEV) in Horses. Vaccines (Basel) 2024 Sep 19;12(9).
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    doi: 10.30802/AALAS-JAALAS-20-000029pubmed: 33441221google scholar: lookup
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