Methods for detecting arctic rabies virus in dilution series of field samples.

A modified first passage cell culture method, mouse inoculation test, and ELISA were compared for the detection of rabies in serially diluted field samples. Each original specimen contained rabies antigen, individually identified as an arctic strain by monoclonal antibodies. In 47% of the samples tested in cell cultures, the end-point titer was increased as a result of the first passage. The cell culture method gave higher titers than the mouse inoculation test or ELISA (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.01, respectively).