In this study, we validated three commercial ELISA (NSP-ELISA) kits that detect antibodies to a nonstructural protein of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Although the specificity of the NSP-ELISA kits was as high as that of liquid-phase blocking ELISA (LPBE) in non-infected, non-vaccinated animals, the sensitivity of the NSP-ELISA kits was significantly lower than that of the present LPBE, and did not agree with the findings of a previous report on infected animals in the field. Therefore, although countries can adopt both a 'vaccination-to-kill' policy and a 'vaccination-to-live' policy after emergency vaccination during an FMD epidemic, the NSP-ELISA kits do not seem to be suitable for the latter policy in Japan. These results should be useful for choosing appropriate control measures for potential future FMD epidemics in Japan and elsewhere.
(Exotic Disease Research Division)
References:
Fukai K. et al. (2013) J. Vet. Med. Sci. 75(6):693-699
