Studies on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies in cattle infected with bovine leukemia virus.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of antibodies to bovine leukemia virus (BLV) was studied. In titration of anti-BLV antibody by ELISA, the glycoprotein (gp) antigen, the core protein (p) antigen, and the dual antigen containing both the gp and p antigens were used. A high titer of anti-BLV antibody was obtained by ELISA with the p antigen. A total of 114 cattle Sera were examined for anti-BLV antibody by ELISA with p antigen and by agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGIDT) with gp antigen. The ELISA and AGIDT titers agreed in about 93% of the specimens. In comparison between ELISA and AGIDT in detection of anti-p antibody with p antigen with these 114 bovine sera, ELISA showed a higher sensitivity in detection of anti-p antigen and higher antibody titers than AGIDT.