LAUSR

We evaluated an immunochromatographic strip for the detection of avian avulavirus 1 (Newcastle disease virus, NDV) based on a high-affinity monoclonal antibody (mAb) that specifically recognizes the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) protein. The anti-HN mAb was labeled with colloidal gold as the detector. A chicken anti-NDV polyclonal antibody and staphylococcal protein A (SPA) were blotted on the nitrocellulose membrane for the test and control lines, respectively. The strip specifically recognized the NDV antigen with no cross-reactivity to other viruses that were examined. Furthermore, it specifically recognized a variety of NDV isolates, including virulent and attenuated strains. These results were confirmed using hemagglutination (HA) and RT-PCR assays. The NDV detection strip detected 104.9 EID50 viruses/0.1 mL in the NDV-infected sample, which is comparable to the classical HA test (105.2 EID50/0.1 mL). Following experimental infection, NDV was detected using the detection strip in infected tissues as early as 36 h after experimental infection and prior to development of clinical signs and appearance of gross anatomic lesions. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the NDV detection strip for NDV infection were 83.3% and 100%, respectively, as confirmed by RT-PCR.