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Neutralisation Test
Liquid Phase Blocking ELISA
Infection vs Vaccination
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The OIE prescribed tests for FMD antibody detection are the virus neutralisation test (VNT) and the liquid phase blocking ELISA. No alternative tests are currently recognised.
At the FAO/OIE WRL for FMD the liquid phase blocking ELISA is used as the screening test due to its high sensitivity and the VNT is used as the confirmatory test due to its high specificity. The VNT acts as the 'gold standard' for international trade in animals due to its high specificity.
The detection of specific antibody to FMD virus is evidence of previous exposure to FMD viral antigens. Animals which have been infected with live FMD virus cannot be differentiated from those that have merely been vaccinated using either the VNT or ELISA. Both tests measure antibody to the structural, capsid proteins of the virus which maybe induced by both vaccination and infection. Recently developed tests measure antibody to the non-structural (NS) proteins of FMD virus and are capable of identifying FMD infection in previously naive and vaccinated animals.
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