Counterimmunoelectrophoresis for Diagnosis of Infectious Bursal Disease: Comparative Efficacy of Three Different Electrophoresis Buffers

Abstract

SUMMARY The bursas of Fabricius of 48 broiler chickens (meat type) of age groups 3 to 7 wk, affected with infectious bursal disease (IBD) were tested by counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE) by using 3 different buffers, namely, barbital buffer, Tris-glacial acetic acid-EDTA (TAE) buffer, and Tris-boric acid-EDTA buffer. Eighty-five percent of the samples were positive when the TAE buffer was used, whereas the Tris-boric acid-EDTA and barbital buffers yielded 81% positive test results. The barbital buffer, which is commonly used in CIE for diagnosis of IBD, is not readily available and is considered carcinogenic. The TAE buffer was found to be safe and was a superior buffer for diagnosing IBD in a CIE test.