Early serodiagnosis of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection of pigs by detection of slow-reacting and complement-requiring neutralizing antibody.

In order to evaluate and enhance the sensitivity of the neutralization (NT) test for detecting antibody in pigs infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, the effect of altered incubation conditions and complement use on neutralizing (NT) antibody titer were investigated. Higher NT antibody titers were consistently obtained by addition of 20% guinea pig fresh serum to virus-serum mixtures in NT tests. Furthermore, the complement-requiring NT antibody titer increased in many serum samples when the virus-serum mixtures, rather than being incubated at 37 degrees C for 60 min, were incubated first at 4 degrees C for 48 hr and then with a complement at 37 degrees C for 60 min. The slow-reacting and complement-requiring NT antibody was detected as early as 8 days post-inoculation. It was detected in sera collected at 8 to 28 days post-inoculation and was sensitive to 2-mercaptoethanol treatment. Sera collected at 35 to 44 days post-inoculation contained 2-mercaptoethanol resistant NT antibodies. These results indicate that the modified NT test is useful for early serodiagnosis of PRRS virus infection through detection of higher NT antibody titers, and in detecting them earlier.