Systematic Veterinary Virology

LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS

Isolation and identification

• Clinical materials: Blood collected from early febrile period, spleen, lung, and lymph nodes. Specimens for virus isolation should be shipped to the laboratory refrigerated, NOT FROZEN.
• Isolation systems: The virus can be isolated in baby hamster kidney-21 (BHK-21), monkey stable (MS), African green monkey kidney (Vero), newborn mice (intracerebral inoculation) and ECE (intravenous route).
• Lesions / CPE: Not very characteristic and dependant on confirmation of antigen. In mice inoculatin, in positive cases, animals develop nervous signs between 3 and 15 days post-inoculation. 
• Identification of antigen: The presence of antigen in isolation systems are confirmed by ELISA, virus neutralization test or by PCR.