Comparison of virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction for diagnosis of peste des petits ruminants.

Oculonasal swabs and tissue samples collected from peste des petits ruminants (PPR) suspected sheep and goats were tested for presence of the virus of peste des petits ruminants (PPRV) or its RNA by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and virus isolation (VI). Of 44 samples 31.8% and 40.9% were positive by VI and RT-PCR, respectively. The RT-PCR-positive samples were subjected to the nested PCR. Three of six samples positive by RT-PCR but negative by VI were negative by the nested PCR. The specificity and accuracy of the nested PCR were higher than those of the RT-PCR although the sensitivity of both tests were similar. Nucleotide sequencing of one nested PCR product revealed a 92% homology with the sequence available in the GenBank (Acc. No. Z37017).