Development and laboratory evaluation of two lateral flow devices for the detection of vesicular stomatitis virus in clinical samples.

The research paper discusses the development of two lateral flow devices (LFDs) that effectively detect the presence of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) in clinical samples from animals, and compares their efficiency to the reference method, antigen ELISA.

Development of Lateral Flow Devices

• The researchers developed two Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs), specifically for the detection of two types of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV): Indiana (VSV-IND) and New Jersey (VSV-NJ).
• Monoclonal antibodies C1 and F25VSVNJ-45 were used to identify the respective VSV serotypes. These antibodies bind specifically to the target antigens present in the respective VSV strains, allowing for precise detection.

Evaluation of LFDs

• The performance of the LFDs was evaluated using vesicular epithelia suspensions and cell culture-derived supernatants of VSV, acting as test samples to simulate real-world usage.
• The test samples collection included cases positive for both strains of the virus and some samples positive for Foot-and-Mouth disease (FMD) or Swine Vesicular Disease Virus (SVDV).
• The test samples were derived from suspected cases of vesicular disease in cattle and horses collected from 11 countries over several decades (from 1937 to 2008), and also samples from healthy animals or ones affected with FMD or SVD, collected from 68 countries between 1965 and 2011.

Performance of LFDs

• The diagnostic sensitivity of the VSV-IND and VSV-NJ LFDs was found to be similar or identical to that obtained by the standard method, antigen ELISA. This implies that LFDs are capable of correctly identifying positive cases.
• However, the VSV-IND LFD did not react with the VSV-IND-2 and 3 variants, limiting its application. The VSV-NJ device, on the other hand, recognized all VSV-NJ virus strains.
• The diagnostic specificities, or the ability of the tests to correctly identify negative cases, of both the LFDs were also nearly similar to the ELISA with the VSV-IND and VSV-NJ LFDs showing 99.1% and 100% specificity respectively.

Usefulness of LFDs

• The research findings suggest that these LFDs could provide quick and accurate support to veterinarians in their clinical diagnosis of vesicular disease.
• They could facilitate the identification of subtype (VSV-IND-1) and type-specific (VSV-NJ) strains of the virus and differentiate it from other diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease.