Systematic Veterinary Virology

LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS

• Identification of the virus from lesions
  • Inclusion bodies: Fowlpox virus multiplies in the cytoplasm of epithelial cells with the formation of large intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies (Bollinger bodies) that contain smaller elementary bodies (Borrel bodies). The inclusions can be demonstrated in sections of cutaneous and diphtheritic lesions by the use of haematoxylin and eosin (H& E), acridine orange or Giemsa stains. The elementary bodies can be detected in smears from lesions, for example by the Gimenez method.
  • Electron microscopy: Used to demonstrate viral particles of typical poxvirus morphology by negative staining or in ultrathin sections of infected tissues
• Isolation and identification
  • Clinical materials: Typical pox lesions, scabs
  • Isolation system: ECE, CAM route
  • Lesion: Appearance of pock lesions after 5-7 days of incubation. Confirmation of virus by FAT or AGID or PCR
• Molecular methods 
  • PCR and restriction endonuclease analysis