Relative superiority of c-ELISA for detection of bluetongue virus antibodies.

Anti-VP7 bluetongue virus (BTV) antibodies were detected in sera of ruminant livestock using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (c-ELISA). The per cent positivity for BTV antibodies recorded in sheep was 34.61% in Haryana, 7.14% in Himachal Pradesh and 28.88% in Punjab. Goat showed 64% positivity in Haryana, 67.34% in Himachal Pradesh and 88.33% in Rajasthan whereas cattle showed 67.44% positivity in Haryana, 52.17% in Punjab and 59.15% in Rajasthan for BTV antibodies. The percent positivity recorded for buffalo was 54.05% in Punjab. A comparison of c-ELISA with dot-ELISA for a total of 181 serum samples of sheep and cattle was also done. The performance of c-ELISA relative to dot-ELISA was found to have a sensitivity of 84.61% and specificity of 89.32%.